A Second Chance To Believe
by cla62
Summary: When Morgan, Prentiss and Reid get turned into children by an Unsub, Hotch and JJ find themselves in a situation they never expected before. Secrets are revealed and the team gets to know a lot more about each other and what made them in what they grew up to be.
1. Is This Really Happenin?

**Hey guys! First story in Criminal Minds. Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think on the coments :)**

**Disclaimer; I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters**

Three agents stared in shock at the picture presenting itself in front of them.

JJ blinked a couple of times, half expecting it to magically disappear. _Nope, still there._

"Hotch?" Rossi started slowly "What are we looking at here, exactly?"

The leader opened his mouth before realizing he had absolutely no idea of what to say. He closed his mouth when one of the unconscious small bodies began to stir with a loud groan.

A little African-American boy, perhaps 8 or 9 years old, pushed himself up into a sitting position, one hand grabbing at his pounding head. "Shit. Am I hungover?" His eyes landed on his wide-eyed teammates staring at him and his young face scrunched up in confusion "What? Do I have something on my face? And what the hell wrong with my voice?"

"Who are you?" A small voice floated from the furthest corner of the room. All eyes followed the sound and the little boy felt even more confused at the sight of a tiny pale brunette girl with chocolate eyes dressed in a shirt that was clearly _way_ too big for her. She also looked eerily familiar for the older kid, but he couldn't figure out for the life of him who she was.

"Who am I? Who are YOU?" The boy squeaked back. He frowned again at the sound of his voice and looked down at himself. He too wore a WAY too large shirt. Looking up at his teammates, he demanded "What the hell is going on here?"

JJ blinked once more. Try as she might, her brain yet couldn't process the impossible situation in front of her. "Morgan?"

The boy rolled his eyes "Who else?"

"Morgan?" The little girl, who looked about 5 yelped. Morgan looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I know you?"

"You're a child" A surprisingly calm young voice came from the third and last pile of clothes. A little boy with wavy light brown hair, who looked around the little girl's age, maybe a bit younger, was narrowing his eyes, trying to improve his poorly vision "… And by my poorly eyesight I assume that so am I"

The entire place became silent. The now kids kept staring at their hands and body in shock. Finally, Hotch came back to his senses, physically shaking his head back into reality and cleared his throat.

"We should take them to the hospital"

"And tell them what, exactly?" JJ laughed nervously, finally being able to tear her eyes away from the children and stared at her boss "We don't even have a clue of _how _this happened"

"The unsub" Reid supplied. Now the little boy was attempting to stand, his shirt long enough to almost hit his shins.

Morgan's eyes went wide, unlikely Reid having no problem standing up. He had long ago ridden himself of his giant shirt and was now busy trying to keep his – also huge – pants up "He shot us with something!"

Little Emily nodded along. She hadn't bothered to attempt to get up just yet "Yeah, and it hurt… Like every bone on my body was braking, all at the same time"

"Well, now we know they weren't breaking" Reid commented, his gaze far away "They were _shrinking_"

"Here!" Derek exclaimed, bending down with some difficulty as to not let his pants fall. When he stood back up he held an empty syringe out to his boss. Hotch promptly held out a small evidence bag and put it on his suit pocket.

"We really should get going. Morgan, do you think you can make it to the car on your own?"

The boy looked up to his boss in confusion "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, with the state of your clothes, perhaps it would be easier and faster is someone, you know…" Hotch trailed off, feeling uncharacteristically awkward "… Maybe carried you?"

"WHAT?" Had the situation been any differently, the adults would have laughed at the horrified face of Derek Morgan. In fact, Rossi couldn't help a small snicker, which earned him a dark glare that shouldn't belong on such young face "Thank you, boss-man, but I am more than capable of getting to the car on my own"

The now kid agent tightened his grip on the hen of his pants and held his chin up as he walked out. And if he tripped a few times and nearly fell on his face once, he'll forever deny it.

Hotch looked at Reid next, the little boy still looking around himself as if assessing the situation. To be honest, Hotch was a little uneasy at how calmly the Doctor was taking the entire situation. He figured he probably was still in shock and the metaphorically building bomb was bound to blow up at some point. The boy eventually felt the eyes on him.

"What about you, Reid? Would you mind if I carried you or you'd prefer walk to the car?"

The boy's cheeks suddenly went a bright shade of pink and refused to meet his boss's eye. He shrugged. "I guess would be more practical"

Hotch, for his credit, tried to make the ordeal as least awkward as possible, quickly picking up the small boy in his arms, making sure he was secure, and started to walk out the small room "Rossi, please collect any evidence you might find. And also grab their guns and bandages"

"You got it"

"JJ?" The woman remained still, her face contorted in worry as she silently watched her best friend staring at her tiny hands without so much as a blink. "JJ?"

She shook herself awake "Yes sir?"

"You got her?" He tried to keep his voice low. She nodded, taking a deep breath and finally springing into action.

"Don't worry sir. I'll meet you by the car in a second"

Hotch nodded, satisfied in the knowledge that Prentiss was in good hands and headed outside in quick steps, all of sudden too aware that his 8 year old agent had gone outside, alone, while their unsub was still on the loose.

JJ approached the little brunette carefully, kneeling in front of her. Rossi was moving around the room, grabbing stuff and looking for evidence. She gently covered Emily's tiny hands with her much larger ones and dark eyes shot up to meet hers. Emily started to tear up and JJ's heart broke a little watching the girl struggle to get a grip on her emotions.

"Is this really happenin', Jen?" Her voice was small, shaky and the look on her face was as though she was begging for her best friend to deny the confusing reality, tell her this was all a bad dream instead and that she would wake up soon.

"I'm sorry sweetheart" The blonde kept her voice gentle and soothing. Emily's breath began to hatch, still fighting hard to hold back tears and JJ quickly grabbed her around her tiny waist, bringing her to her chest and into a protective embrace "Shhhh… Everything is going to be okay, honey, I promise"

"You can't p'omise tha'" EMILY's wobbly voice was muffled by her neck, where she had buried her face in and JJ rubbed her back, slowly getting up on her feet, her other arm supporting the little girl from under her bottom.

"No, honey, I can't promise that I know what's going to happen, but I _can _promise that, no matter what, you're going to be okay, you know why?"

The blonde leaned backwards and Emily took the hint, taking her face away from it's safe place, revealing a few tear tracks, and looked at her friend, her hand clinging to her shirt unconsciously "Why?"

"Because I'm right here and I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, ever, you hear me?" When Emily saw nothing but sincerity and the protectiveness she came to associate with her friend's warm eyes, she nodded slowly and buried herself on her previous spot.

As she walked out JJ caught Rossi's eyes. The man gave her a small smile and she headed out.

...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO? WE'RE STUCK LIKE THIS? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD WAS IT TO BE A CHILD THE FIRST TIME? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN?"

_There it is, _Hotch thought with equally relief and concern. He knew the genius doctor was bound to snap sooner or later but wasn't quite expecting this.

The three kids were now sitting in a single bed on the hospital, Reid in the middle of the other two. His face was red all over and his chest waved heavily with distress. Morgan, who had been ready to shout at the doctors himself less than a minute ago was instead looking at his smaller companion with wide eyes, same as Emily, who had not so subtly scooted as far away from the enraged boy and closer to the edge of the bed where JJ stood as she could.

"Reid, kid, calm down" Derek tried to no avail. The little boy turned murderous eyes at him and even he had to admit he was a bit scared.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? MORGAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WAS LIKE FOR ME AS A KID? I WAS A GIFTED UNDERWEIGHT TOO SMALL CHILD WITH A SICK MOTHER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'S THAT LIKE, DO YOU?"

"Reid, Reid" Hotch approached the small boy and grabbed his shoulders firmly but still gently. The boy struggled against the hold "Buddy, you have to calm down"

"NO!" Reid yelled, tears starting to stream down his red face. At this point, JJ had caught on Derek's scared eyes and Emily's trembling hands and waved the – now confirmedly 8 year old – over and picked up the – also now confirmedly underweight 6 year old – girl, resting her on her hip. She gently grabbed the back of Derek's neck and guided him outside.

"What's wrong with Spence?" Emily whispered once JJ had sat on a chair. Derek quickly took a seat on the chair next to her while Emily simply remained at JJ's lap. The blonde sighed.

"I'm not sure, honey. I think he's overwhelmed. Remember what the doctor said? Although you guys still have your memories as adults your bodies are of children, so," She eyed the kids carefully, watching as they shifted uncomfortably "sometimes, it may happen of you get overwhelmed… Maybe have reactions you wouldn't have normally…"

"That's bullshit" Derek grunted, looking suddenly very mad and stood up. All the kids were now in hospital gowns "Reid's acting like a baby because he wants to act like a baby! I'm still a perfectly independent adult, I will not fucking act like a stupid 8 year old and I will most likely not accept being treated as a child, you hear me? I won't!"

Emily's wide eyes met JJ's amused but concerned eyes. Derek stood in front of them during his little speech, arms crossed above his chest, stumping his feet more than once and was now – honestly to god – pouting at her.

"Of course, Morgan, I'm very aware that you are not a small child, don't worry" The blonde smiled sheepishly at a old couple who happened to be walking by and glared at her, clearly judging her for her 'son's' behavior. Morgan thankfully relaxed and uncrossed his arms.

"Jen?" Emily, who always took pride in always being in perfect control of her emotions, the queen of compartmentalization, felt like she no longer was able to get a grip on herself. She was terrified and her cheeks took on a bright pink color as she admitted "I'm scared"

"Well, I'm not!" Derek announced, sitting back on his previous seat. He faltered however when he caught JJ shooting him a warning glare "… But it's okay if you are, Emily… Maybe I am too a little bit… But I'm really pissed off though!"

JJ sighed and shifted Emily so she was resting on her left side with her arm securely holding her closer and reached her free arm to wrap around the little boy's shoulders. At first Derek resisted, not wanting to accept the comfort, too afraid of appear weak, but as he saw Emily turn in JJ's embrace, hiding her face on her chest and grabbing onto her shirt with her free hand, he relaxed. They wouldn't judge him, they were his family, his girls and he knew for a fact it wasn't easy for Prentiss either to appear this vulnerable and he admired her for her bravery.

He finally rested his head against JJ's shoulder and relaxed further when she kissed the top of his head gently and rested her chin on it.


	2. It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better

**Hi guys! I'm going to be honest here and say that I did not expect this story to have a response so soon! You guys have blown me away, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Criminal Minds or its characters.**

Chapter 2

Just as Hotch walked out from the examination room with a now calm Spencer Reid happily suckling on a lollipop, Rossi arrived carrying a few shopping bags with him. The younger man raised a curious brow at him.

"You felt like this was a perfect time to go shopping or something?"

Rossi simply stared "You plan on keeping those three wearing those hospital gowns for how long exactly? I called Garcia and explained the situation to her-"

"- I don't want to imagine how this conversation went" JJ commented. Rossi shuddered.

"She demands to come along when you guys go to buy them clothes and is looking very forwards to see them all"

"Urg" Morgan whined. He could already imagine Garcia squeezing the life out of him and voicing over and over again how _cute _he looked. Emily also pulled a face and Hotch and JJ appeared amused. 4 year old Reid was too busy with his lollipop, sitting on the chair on the other side of JJ, to pay attention on anything going on around him.

"Anyway" Rossi continued and held the bags up "She told me to get a few things immediately so they'd have _something_ to wear, at least on our flight back"

"We're going back?" That caught the young genius' attention.

"But…" Emily, who had once again started to look nervous, was now sitting straight on JJ's lap and inquired "We didn't get our unsub? He's still out there!"

"… And most likely coming after us…"

Five pairs of eyes landed on him, three looking stern and two looking terrified, and Derek shrugged.

"It's true. Now at least we know why none of the children's bodies were claimed. They probably weren't really kids in first place"

"… That actually makes a lot of sense. Is quite genius, in fact. He takes adults, the police keep looking for the adults but they are no longer adults. Then the children's bodies are found, the adults remain missing and the children unclaimed. Terrifyingly genially. Now, how he accomplished something technically impossible to any science know by man, create an age reversal serum, now that's entirely another level of genially"

Emily simply blinked at Reid's speech and turned to look at JJ instead.

"Shhh, it's okay" The woman soothed, tightening the arms around the little girl, feeling her nerves.

"… Anyway, we are obviously in no shape to continue on this case" Hotch said, looking pointedly at the kid agents "So we are going back home"

"I already stored everything I could find and left it all on my hotel room. We're all ready to go"

"Whatever" Derek rolled his eyes "Which bag is mine?" Rossi wordlessly handed him one of his bags and the boy took off, looking for the closest bathroom.

"Morgan, wait!" Hotch called, as a father of a 7 year old himself, he knew it was not a good idea to leave a 8 year old to wander off on his own on unfamiliar places, _especially _when said 8 year old was under possible imminent danger "Give me Reid's bag please?"

"There you go"

"Thanks. Come on, Reid! Morgan, wait!"

"This one's mine?" Emily asked, pointing to the last bag. JJ got up from the chair, putting the small girl back on her own feet and grabbed the bag from Rossi's hand.

"We'll be back in a minute" And grabbing the little girl's hand, JJ also took off looking for a bathroom.

…

Hotch was finding it extremely hard to keep his straight face as he looked at the three children in front of him. JJ, on the other hand, had no problem at all, no matter how amused she secretly was, she kept glaring darkly at the older man, highly annoyed by his antics.

"What? They look cute!"

"Do not call me cute ever again, old man" Emily scowled. Rossi held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm sorry, my mistake. You do not look cute, Emily, you look cool, pardon me"

The girl nodded, looking satisfied. JJ still kept glaring at the older man, who started to shift uncomfortably on his shoes.

"What did you want me to do, JJ? I could only find this one store with children sized clothes on my way here!"

"Seriously, Dave?"

"Well… Halloween _is _just around the corner…"

JJ sighed and looked back to the children. They looked content, much to her amazement, so she supposed she could lay off Dave. For now. Plus, she had to admit it, they did look absolutely adorable.

Reid was dressed as the most adorable Peter Pan she had ever seen, hat and all. They had yet to get him the glasses he clearly needed as he kept squinting his eyes to see, but JJ found him to look even more adorable with his scrunched up nose and narrowed eyes.

Emily, for her part, was dressed in her secretly favorite princess's dress, and looked all like a tiny real life version of the Snow White herself. She was very skeptical at first and gave JJ a very hard time to put the dress on (hence why all the blonde's annoyance) but much for JJ's surprise, after finally managing to put the dress on her, Emily deflated and even looked content in the clothing. She claimed that the dress was surprisingly comfortable and she's be out of it soon enough so she didn't mind it. However, when she allowed her to put on the red bow on her dark hair, JJ caught a glimpse of the little girl smiling at herself at the mirror. JJ's heart nearly melted from the adorableness.

Derek for his turn didn't get a cartoon character costume, much to his relief, and instead got what made him laugh once he spotted it. An FBI agent costume, complete with an FBI hat and sunglasses. He had loose black pants on and long sleeved white shirt with badges on each arm and a black FBI vest on top of it. He might even deny it, but the truth was that he absolutely loved his costume.

A couple of nurses walked by and cooed at the adorable children. Reid when red in the face, Derek winked at them, which made them giggle and coo even more. Emily, on the other hand, was too busy standing on a chair on her tiptoes trying to reach a candy bar sticking out from JJ's purse without her noticing. She lost her balance and almost fell if not for Hotch's quick reflexes.

"Careful there, princess" He smiled genuinely at her and she went as red as Reid, quickly regaining her balance and running to hide on JJ's legs, not caring about the very inappropriate position they found themselves in. JJ didn't seem to mind either, she simply bent down to pick up the girl, kissing her cheek and smiled when little arms wrapped around her neck.

"Well, don't you guys look awesome?" The doctor who had examined them (an old acquaintance of Rossi, who he trusted) walked back with an easy smile. Reid blushed further and Emily slid down from JJ's arms, victoriously holding onto the candy bar. The blonde rolled her eyes but let her be when she called the other two to share.

"So, Williams, what do you advice we do?" Rossi asked. Hotch kept an eye on the children, making sure they were out of ear range. Nobody wanted another meltdown.

The older doctor sighed "Well, first of all I advise you guys to get them another trustworthy doctor back home to accompany them; like I told you guys, the samples we took from their blood were already destroyed to prevent it from falling on the wrong hands. I also advise to look into the background of everyone who will be studying the samples and trying to make an antidote"

"You don't have to worry about it, doctor" Hotch assured "We'll have our tech specialist digging into anyone who will be let into the situation; believe in me when I say there's nothing Penelope Garcia can't dig out"

"Good" Doctor Williams nodded "What I also advise is, in case of things start to look like it may take some time, is to get them regular psychological aid"

"Therapy?" JJ bit the inside of her cheek "Now that will be an easy thing to get them to agree to…"

"Agents, you have to understand that, for all for all purposes and intents, Agents Morgan, Prentiss and Reid are children. They have the emotion control of children, they will soon start thinking like children and acting as such. Now, tell me if I'm wrong, but I suppose you guys see a lot of ugly things on your line of work; things no child should see or know about. They have seen real life monsters, and they won't forget about it"

The three agents remained silent for a minute, letting the words of the doctor wash over them. The older man smiled sympathetically at them.

"Another thing to take notice is that, not only they were reverted to a certain age, but they were reverted to exactly who they wore at that age; Agent Morgan has a very recently healed fracture on his left arm and the only time he broke this specific bone was back when he was 8 years old. The first time, that is. So, whatever may have happened to them when they were at those ages, they'll soon start to reflect on them as if it happened now"

"This just keeps getting better and better… Wasn't Spencer 4 when his mother started getting sick?" Rossi asked and Hotch hummed in agreement. JJ sighed.

"And Morgan was 8 when his dad died"

The doctor looked sympathetic again "Looks like you guys have your hands full"

Hotch sighed "It sure looks like it…"

Rossi felt a small tug on his pant and looked down at one tired looking Spencer Reid "Can we go now?"

"Well, I suppose yes, we should get going" Rossi smiled and held a hand out to the doctor "Thank you very much, Tom, your help is very much appreciated"

"You're welcome Dave. And good luck"

"… We'll need it" JJ whispered under her breath as she held both her hands out for the two older children. They walked towards her but didn't take her hands. She rolled her eyes and grabbed both by their arms as they started walking out.

"Let's go grab our stuff and wheels up in 1 hour"

"Ay ay, captain"

…

"What are we going to do with them?" Rossi asked his two still-adults team mates while eyeing the other three.

The kids were all exhausted after the events of the day – which was more than understandable – and pretty much fell asleep as soon as they got bucked up on their seats.

Morgan and Reid sat on the seats next to each other while Prentiss sat by herself facing Morgan on the window seat. The oldest boy now was leaning against the window, softly snoring with his mouth open. Reid had undone his belt at some point and was laying down, curled up on a small ball and Emily was using her armrest as a pillow and, what amused Dave to no end, she had two of her tiny fingers on her mouth.

"You better not be taking pictures of her, Rossi" JJ warned, coming back from the back of the jet with blankets and pillows in her arms.

"Of course not!" The older man looked up at the blonde and smirked "I'm taking pictures of all of them, and don't play coy, agent Jareau, we all know you did too"

"… Maybe" She shrugged and gently slid a small pillow underneath Reid's head, tucking him in with a fluffy blanket. Brushing his bangs back and kissing his forehead like she always did with her own son, she stood up and proceeded to repeat the same process with Morgan.

"But I mean it, does anyone have a plan yet? It's not like we can simply drop them off at their homes and leave them by themselves"

"… Maybe we could contact their parents?" Hotch suggested offhandedly. He knew it wasn't really an option, but he was surprised at the fierce and protective glare his media liaison sent him.

"_No one_ is to call Ambassador Prentiss, all she would care about would be the possibility of a scandal and I don't even want to think about what would happen to Em in that case. And who exactly are you planning to call for Spencer? His mentally ill mother or estranged father?"

Hotch held up his hands in surrender "Alright, it was a terrible idea, we're not contacting them"

JJ sighed and let her shoulders drop "Good" she looked down at the tucked up little brunette girl and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"But we have to think of something and something soon; it won't be long now until we touch the ground"

"… I don't even want to think about having to tell Strauss about of all this mess" Hotch pinched the top of his nose against the imminent headache and sighed. JJ plumped down on the seat besides Hotch and in front of Rossi and closed her eyes, the exhaustion of the day finally caching up to her.

"… Maybe they could go with you guys" Blue and brown eyes snapped wide open and stared at the older agent as if he had grown a second head "What?"

"I'm sorry, why _we_" JJ pointed between Hotch and herself "should take them and not _we_" She motioned to the three of them. Rossi held his hands up.

"Hey, I thought we had long ago established that I'm the cool, grumpy grandpa. _You guys_ are the ones who keep parenting this bunch, and now that they are really kids, I say it should be up to the two of you"

"Shut up, Dave"

"… Are you calling me team-mom?" JJ rose an eyebrow "When the hell did I became the team-mom? I'm not the team-mom… Am I?"

"… Well, Agent Jareau, it is true that in many occasions you have taken on a 'maternal' role with the team, be it when someone was hurt or became ill or when they needed someone to… Keep the team focused on what's important"

The blonde blinked "Says you! You're such a dad, always protecting everyone, lecturing when someone screws up, fixing mistakes behind the curtains… You think I don't see you, Aaron Hotchner?"

"Point proven" Rossi nodded in satisfaction. The two glared at him. "See? You guys have mastered the parental glare! Even before you had children! You two were born for this"

"Alright, alright Dave, we get your point" Hotch sighed "Let's say we agree, who'd take who? Because there's no way I'm taking the three of them by myself, especially when I also got Jack"

"Ditto" JJ ran a hand through her hair "… And I suppose it'd be fair for me to take two? I mean, I do have Will to help me out… Oh god! Will!" Her head spun around to face her boss, blue eyes wide "How the hell am I going to explain this to him? That's it if he doesn't have a heart attack and dies before I can even explain, just by seeing me coming home with two children!"

"… I had forgotten about Jessica. I also have to explain it to her… I don't see her taking this very well… And thinking about that, I suppose I could take two too, I do have Jess to help me out"

"And Garcia" JJ pointed out. Then she smirked "And of course, Grandpa Dave"

The older man rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. The trio went quiet, JJ and Hotch watching the children carefully until they saw Morgan begin to stir. Hotch sighed.

"I suppose we should let them decide who goes with whom"

JJ took a deep breath "Yeah… I suppose so too"

**So guys, hope you enjoyed it! Let me know in the comments who you want the children to choose; who should go home with whom? I honestly have no idea so help me with the ideas! Again, thank you so much for the support!**


	3. How Did I End Up With a Dog?

**Hello you guys! Once again I am blown away with the response for this story, I loved all of your comments and I'm SO glad you're enjoying this crazy ride just as I am! So, many of you gave ideas about who you wanted with whom and it got me laughing because EVERY SINGLE ONE of you gave a different idea – all amazing btw – so I tried to compromise, took one suggestion from one, another from another… But worry not! The members who didn't get to take a kid home will also have their turn to shine looking after the little terror trio.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and, if you're interested, I started writing a new story, also Criminal Minds but NOTHING like this one. Check it out if you want :)**

**Disclaimer: You know… Yes, still don't own anything. Not Criminal Minds and not its cast. Phoey :/**

"… What do you mean, I can't go back to my own apartment?" Little Derek Morgan spoke slowly, as if he was talking to a small child, which very was ironic considering entire situation.

"Morgan…" JJ sighed in frustration. The jet would soon touch the ground and she'd rather have an answer from the kids and a plan of action for herself by the time it happened.

"You do know that we are not actual children, right?" Emily spoke but with her messed up hair, Snow White wrinkled dress and still sleep filled face, she looked the opposed of what she stated.

"We know that" Hotch played along "But, can you imagine what would happen if anybody found you guys living by yourselves in this current state? How would we even explain any of that?"

"Well, how _will _we explain for the rest of the world _any of this? _Three agents simply disappearing and, at the exact same time, mysteriously, the two other agents of their team show up with two kids, that no one has ever seen before?" Spencer put it all out "… And in the case of, I don't know, something happening? Do we answer for ourselves? We are technically of age, but if we don't, who does? Our parents? You guys?"

"Spence, please slow down" JJ had a begging tone on her voice. She rubbed her temples, her head pounding at the non stopping oncoming information.

Everybody missed the look of complete panic that crossed Prentiss eyes. It was gone as it came as she cleaned her throat and shifted on her seat.

"So… Our options are between going with either Hotch or JJ? What about you, Rossi?"

"What about me?" The man looked for all like he actually had no idea of what the little girl was talking about. Morgan narrowed his eyes at him.

"What, old man? Don't you want us to stay with you?"

"Well… No. Not really."

Spencer looked at the older man with a distressed look and tears on his eyes "Why? Don't you love us, Rossi?"

The man blinked in surprise. The children traded a quick glance and before he knew it, three pairs of tearful eyes were staring at him like he had kicked all of their puppies.

"Oh, come on! Cut it out, you guys!" He asked to no avail. Hotch and JJ were biting their lips, trying not to laugh "Come on, kids, you know I didn't have children for a reason I… I…"

A single tear slipped down Emily's pale cheek.

Derek pushed out his bottom lip in a miserable pout.

Spencer's chin wobbled and he suddenly looked like_ the_ kicked puppy.

Dave broke.

"Alright, alright, you can all come with me if that's what you want"

The kids took one last look on his grumpy face and fell into a fit of wild giggles. JJ soon joined them and even Hotch cracked a smile.

"Thanks for the generous and completely unprompted offer Dave, but maybe for a sleepover or for a day or two" Hotch said "But I think it would be better if they stayed with JJ and I, at least for the time being"

"Oh, _grazie a Dio_"

The kid agents suddenly sobered up and stopped their laughter. Spencer was the first one to give and he sighed in defeat; his logical mind knew that there was no way around it.

"Well, I see we don't really have another option" The little boy sighed "Hotch's house is very near the library; would I be able to visit it if I stayed there?"

Hotch nodded with a small smile "Of course, Spencer. I'm sure Jess will be delighted and will love to take you and whenever possible, I promise to take you myself, deal?"

Spencer looked at the much larger hand held out for him. He broke into a wide grin and grabbed Hotch's fingers – how whole hand wrapped around two of his fingers – and shook it. "Deal"

Derek gave an exaggerated sigh "Alright, alright, I suppose that I'll be going with Hotch too because even if I wanted too, I couldn't go with Jayje"

The blonde frowned in confusion "Why couldn't you come with me, Morgan? You are more than welcome to come with me if you want"

"Well, I know that" The smug little thing waved it off "But Clooney's not"

JJ and Hotch's face paled at the same time; each for very different reasons.

"Well, you are _right _about that. No dog allowed anywhere near my house, especially big, scary, diabolical ones" The blonde shuttered and the boy glared at her.

"Clooney's not diabolical! Or scary!"

"He tried to eat my son's face!" JJ accused. Derek crossed his arms.

"He was giving him _kisses_, JJ, _doggie kisses"_

"**Anyway" **Emily cut in what she knew for experience could become a full blown, hours lasting argument. And while it was kinda funny, she was tired and grumpy and still not very happy for being awaken for this conversation "Derek's welcome, dog's not, Derek won't go without dog, Derek and dog go with Hotch. Moving on…"

"Hey! I never agreed on housing a dog!"

"Emily's right, I think we'll be landing anytime now" Spencer spoke up, all but ignoring Hotch's protests.

"So, have you decided?" Rossi asked the little girl. The brunette looked down at the feet, feeling uncomfortable being on the spot. She still wasn't on board with the entire idea, she hated the thought of being a burden.

The blonde watched her best friend bit her lip and like always, she knew exactly what to do. She smiled at Dave and stated simply "She's coming with me"

Emily looked up to the blonde, ready to say something but gave up on it. She sighed in defeat as the seatbelt sign lightened up and asked in a shy voice as JJ helped her with her seatbelt "Sergio too?"

JJ smiled, kissing her forehead before moving to help a stubborn Derek "Of course Sergio too; we couldn't leave him behind, now, could we?"

And as everyone was safely buckled in their seats and the jet began descending, the only thought on Hotch's head was 'how did I end up with a dog?'

…

Since she met her, JJ found out that Emily Prentiss had two modes that would be switched from one to another randomly and unpredictably; super-terrible-many-days-with-no-sleep-no-matter-what-you-do-insomnia and falls-asleep-within-a-second-any-time-anywhere-anyhow.

It always amazed the blonde how her friend could sometimes for weeks not managing a wink of sleep and other times drop dead asleep in a second leaning against literally anything.

She supposed she was dealing with the second case as the little girl managed to fall deeply asleep on the few minutes it took for the jet to land. Cute little snores and all.

It was already late in the night when they got their things and headed for the parking lot. Hotch was carrying his suitcase and Emily's, Rossi has his and Spencer's, JJ had her own and an armful of a sleeping small 6 year old and Derek insisted on carrying his own.

Spencer soon began to sway on his little feet, his tiny legs struggling to keep up with the others and when he almost tripped for the second time, Hotch balanced one bag on his shoulder and another on his hand and settled the 4 year old on his opposed hip. He was asleep by the time they reached the cars.

"What are we going to do about my car?"

Luckily before heading for San Francisco – where the whole ordeal took place – JJ had given Emily a ride to work and Reid rode with Derek, so they had two vehicles less to worry about. Hotch ignored it for the time being, settled the bags on the floor and opened the backdoor of his car "JJ, want to swish car seats?"

The blonde had just opened her own car – parked next to Hotch's – and she chuckled "I think that would be a wise idea"

Hotch nodded and passed the sleeping 4 year old to Rossi's arms. He rubbed his hand on Morgan's short hair as he walked back to his car to get Jack's car seat "And don't worry, Derek, one of us can come here tomorrow and get your car"

"What about Clooney?" The little boy asked. Hotch groaned and managed to get the car-seat out.

"What _about_ the dog?" He made his way to the opposed side of JJ's car and she opened the backdoor for him. Derek followed him closely.

"When are we going to get him? Now? Tomorrow morning?"

"We'll see, Derek"

"But we can't wait too long! He must be so lonely!"

"Yeah, yeah, poor thing" The man groaned. JJ suppressed her laugh and thanked him when he finished installing the seat for Emily.

"Hotch! Hotch! Hotch! I'm serious, man, I've already been away from long enough, we have to go get him!"

"Oh, crap" Hotch was back on the side of the car where Henry's car-seat was. JJ was already buckling Emily in and looked up with a glare when his exclamation made the brunette stir "Sorry"

"You know the fight she'll put up if she wakes up and realizes I'm buckling her up on a child's car-seat?" She stage whispered. Hotch looked sheepish and kept ignoring the insistent calls from Derek.

"Sorry, JJ, I just realized; Jack can ride on the normal seat for a day or so, but Henry's too little; how will you drive him to the daycare tomorrow?"

JJ waved him off, smiling as, after securely buckled up, Emily immediately brought her two fingers back into her mouth. "Don't worry about it, I'll either grab the car-seat on Will's car or I'll have him dropping him off"

Satisfied with her answer, Hotch managed to get the car-seat out and moved to install it in his car.

"Hotch! Stop ignoring me, man! This is not cool!" Derek crossed his arms and pouted. Hotch was pretty sure he also saw him stopping himself from stomping his feet.

"I'm sorry, Derek" He started installing the seat "Well, tomorrow morning we need all be on the bullpen in the morning so we can go through some stuff… Explain this whole mess to Strauss" A collative shudder ran down all the not sleeping agents "… But after all is done, I believe we can stop by your house and get your dog"

"Actually" JJ interrupted, closing the trunk of her car, hers and Emily's bags already inside "After we leave the bullpen tomorrow we need to go shopping. Don't forget the three of them only have the clothes… Or costumes" A glare was sent Rossi's way "That they're wearing. I think I may find something that's big on Henry that I can dress Emily tomorrow, but we _really _need to take them shopping… Also, I'm afraid Penelope might have a small aneurism if we don't go soon…"

Rossi chuckled and Derek pulled a face. Hotch grabbed Spencer to bulk him on his seat while Derek helped Rossi to put their bags into the trunk. After everything was settled, all the kids secured in their seats, Rossi bid them goodbye and the other two shared a meaningful look.

They begin to drive away and JJ looked at the adorable little girl sleeping on her backseat. Now, she just had to figure out what to tell her husband and _how _to do it, you know, without giving him a heart attack first.

**Hope you guys enjoyed! Now I feel like the story is about to **_**really **_**begin. So, gimme your thoughts, tell me if there's something you wish to see, if you want more fluff of angst or funny scenes… Just let me know ;)**


	4. I Have Not Gone Insane

**Hey you guys! You're killing me with kindness, I swear! The response to this story has been so overwhelming, I simply cannot stop writing!**

**I'll be honest, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. I had planned more things to happen but it ended up getting way too long and I'm not so sure about it at all. Hopefully I'll do better next chapter!**

**One thing that I'd like to mention is that, between all your AMAZING reviews (those make my day, you guys have no idea) there was one something on the comment, from the amazing **zelofheda-B** that I'd like to address; please, please, please feel free to send me your ideas. I love it when you guys participle on the story, give me ideas I would never have otherwise, turn it into something way better than I ever could on my own. And btw, **zelofheda-B **I'm SO including your ideas. The same goes for you, **Jesuslover123 **and guest. I'll do my best with your ideas and hope for not you let you down! Also **Silver-IronScript, **your comment had me laughing for quite a while, thank you for that ;)**

**And lastly **Celineherondale22, **to answer your question hun, no, they won't have to relieve everything that happened to them in their lives (even I am not that cruel with sweet little Emmy ;)) It's like, they went back exactly to a certain point of their lives and everything that happened before that **_**literally **_**just happened to them but from that point on are empty pages… Only not because they **_**do **_**still have their adult memories… Darn it, I hadn't realized how complicated it was before :o but I hope I cleared something up? If not, feel free to DM me and I'll be happy to answer you.**

**Also, I just realized I didn't mention something I probably should; English's not my first language so if you see any mistakes, by all means feel free to correct me ;)**

**Enough talking, here's the chapter, not my favorite, promise to do better next time but still, hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Yep. Still don't own nothing. ****No Criminal Minds, no Em, no JJ, no Spence… *****sigh* **

Because lucky would have it, as soon as her car was parked in front of her house, JJ saw the living-room's light being turned on.

With a groan she dropped her forehead on the wheel. When she had first arrived she had been so relieved, thanking the heavens for her husband being asleep; she was _way _too exhausted to explain this mess – mess which she was still trying to come to terms with herself – and genuinely thought she would get away with getting at least some sleep before having to test her husband's mental stability. _Oh well._

The blonde made sure to be as slow as humanly possible as she rounded the car to unbuckle her tiny 6 year old best friend. _Oh God, _the reality of the situation had slowly started to wash over her. _This adorable, tiny little thing reaching out in her sleep for me is my best friend. Is __**my**__ Em. Badass, stubborn, hotheaded, sassy, kind, wonderful, loveable Emily Prentiss. My best friend, Emily. Oh God._

Emily wrapped her tiny arms around her neck and rubbed her face on the cloth of her shoulder, whining. For a second JJ was sure she would wake up, but the little girl found a comfortable position and sighed, never waking up.

The blonde decided to leave the bags to be dealt with later and locked her car. She walked to her front porch and when she saw the door being unlocked from inside she took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._

"Well, hello there… Cher?"

She could have laughed at the comical look on Will's face. Instead she pushed her way inside and tried to deposit the little girl on the couch, but Emily clung to her and whimpered, threatening to wake up. So JJ stood back up shushing the brunette and came face to face with her husband, who has already locked the door and was now looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Before I explain you everything I need you to remember something; I haven't gone insane, Will, you understand? I have not gone insane"

The man's eyes started to widen "… Cher, please tell me you did not kidnap a random child off the street, please"

"What?" And now she was starting to doubt her husband's sanity instead "Of course not!"

"Oh, so you kidnapped a specific child from a different location? Cher, I know you want a girl, but…"

"Will!"

"… What? The only other explanation I can come up with is that you randomly decided to adopt a child without talking to me first!"

"And how is this _worse _than me committing a crime, exactly?"

Will was about to answer and the noise started to wake up the little girl. The adults both held their breath but Emily grabbed a handful of the blonde's shirt and soon settled when JJ rubbed small circles on her back.

The couple was left in silence for a minute. JJ sighed.

"We should sit down for this" Will nodded in agreement and the couple made themselves comfortable on the couch.

As the blonde changed the position of the little girl so she was cradling her against her chest instead, Will got a good look on her face. He frowned. This child looked eerily familiar.

"Well, as I was saying before, I have _not _gone insane" She gave a pointed look to her husband "… But something came up during the case"

"Yes?"

"… Morgan, Reid and… Emily" Her voice caught on the last name. Will raised an eyebrow "… They, hmm, they walked inside the Unsub's house ahead of the rest of us and then we heard noises and soon everything was silent and they wouldn't answer to their coms. So we ran in and found them… Well, they were attacked. Shot at."

The last sentence all but sent the man jumping off of the couch in sudden panic. When your wife's team is also her family and the people who made sure she came back for you every day, they become your family too.

"What? Where are they? Are they okay?"

A smile tugged at JJ's lips at his reaction. She loved that her husband cared so much about the people she loved. She reached a hand out and grabbed his arm, motioning for him to sit back down. He complied but still looked on edge. She didn't blame him.

"Well… They weren't exactly shot with bullets. They were shot with… Some unknown drug that's being studied right now"

"…And this makes it better how?" The man inquired "Are they okay? What happened? And it doesn't explain why you came home with a child?"

"Well, you see, they're fine. Morgan and Spence are back at Hotch's house as we speak…" She paused for a second. Will waved her on.

"What about Emily? Oh, dear, I knew the child looked familiar! Is this Emily's child? I didn't know Emily had a child! And why is she… Cher…" The man slid from the couch and kneeled in front of his wife, his eyes filled with sorrow and sympathy "Is she… Did Emily… Is she…?"

"Oh, God no!" JJ shook her head frenetically, arms tightening around the brunette instinctively, eyes widening "No, no! Don't you ever even say something like this ever again, William LaMontage Jr.!"

"Oh, well, thank God" He let a relieved sigh out "Then what?"

"Well, because of the drug's… Effects… The three of them can't be by themselves, so Reid and Morgan choose to go with Hotch – _because Morgan couldn't possibly be without that dammed feral beast of his_…"

"… Cher…"

"And Emily came to stay with us. Indefinitely. Until they figure out how to revert the effects"

JJ finished with a smile, proud of herself. _Well, this wasn't a complete disaster!_

Will kept staring at her blankly. He blinked and just kept staring.

"… Jennifer, I'm sorry, I'm confused… Where's Emily and who is the kid?"

JJ nodded towards the little girl with a sheepish smile "Emily. She's Emily. She and the other two got… De-aged? Childfied? Shrunken? Well whatever you want to call it"

Will blinked again. He looked concerned "Cher… Are you _sure _they were the ones that got shot at?"

"Yes" The blonde rolled her eyes "I'm not drugged Will and I did say I needed you to remember that I have not gone insane. Because this whole situation _is_ insane. But I'm not. Insane, that is. I'm not insane."

He looked between his wife and the little girl, who had started to snore softly somewhere along the conversation. He pointed at her skeptically.

"So… This is Emily? Your friend Emily? Scary Agent Prentiss?"

"… Never let her catch you saying she's scary" The blonde informed seriously "But yeah, that would be the one, Emily Prentiss yeah"

Will didn't look like he believed in her. She didn't blame him.

"I can prove it to you! Oh… Oh wait, no I can't" JJ sulked. Will raised an eyebrow.

"… And why not?"

"Well, because I would show you a small birthmark she has, but is on her butt" The blonde spoke dismissively, completely missing the man's widening blue eyes "… But then again, what would that prove? You have never seen it before, so…"

"… No… I have not…" Slowly, he spoke "… Can I ask how _you_ know that?"

"That she has the birthmark?" JJ looked at him like he was insane. "Will, do you have _any _idea how many times we have shared hotel rooms? And how many times we woke up too late for each one to take a shower so we had to share?"

"… I swear I am trying not to picture my wife and her best friend naked on a shower right now. Together."

"You better, because it would be really awkward otherwise" The blonde frowned "… With said best friend being currently barely 3 years older than our own son, our _toddler _son, and being our responsibility for the forsaken future… Well, technically my responsibility, but what's mine is yours right?"

"… You are really serious about it, aren't you?" The man asked after studying his wife. He knew her and he knew she was serious. No matter how unbelievable the entire situation seemed, he _knew_ she wouldn't joke with something like this… Or have the mental capacity to come up with such insane story. She nodded and he sighed, looking down at the little girl again.

She was cuddled up close to JJ's chest, little hand grabbing onto her shirt like a security blanket, like she was afraid that the woman would disappear. He never told either of them because he knew Emily would be mortified, but on the days that followed a case where she had been beat up, tied up – and he had his suspicions that something else might have happened – Emily had stayed in his house and during this time, he would wake up in the middle of the night hearing her cries and would secretly check on her on the guest room. He always found her cuddled up to his wife's chest, clinging to her shirt so tightly her fingers were white, even in her sleep.

He knew, as crazy as it sounded, this little girl was Emily Prentiss.

"Well, I mean…" He started "… Who else besides Emily Prentiss could sleep _this _deep?"

JJ laughed "I'm just glad she's not on her 'no sleep' mode" She sighed and, with a smile, leaned in to kiss him in the cheek "I love you"

And before she got a response, JJ was on her feet and on her way upstairs.

"I'll set her up on the guest-room"

"Should I wait for you in bed?" JJ turned back with a sheepish smile. Will chuckled. "I thought so"

"She fell asleep on the jet… I don't want her to wake up in another place and…"

"It's okay, Cher" He sent her a reassuring smile. She started to climb up the stairs. "Hmm… Cher?"

She cracked her neck back, shifting Emily on her arms "Yeah babe?"

"There's one thing I still don't understand"

JJ frowned "What's that?"

"… How the hell in the middle of all of this has Emily Prentiss ended up in a princess dress?"

…

For Hotch however, lucky seemed to be on his side. When he parked his car Derek had _finally _stopped talking and asking about his dog and all the lights inside the house were off.

The older kid wasn't quite asleep yet, but was nearly there and it made things easier for the older Agent. He carefully picked up the tiny doctor and helped Derek out of the other door. He tried to be silent as he guided a basically sleep-walking 8 year old up the stairs while balancing an asleep 4 year old on his other arm.

He soon arrived his son's bedroom and was very grateful for his nightlight. He gently lowered little Spencer on Jack's bed next to the 7 year old and picked him up instead. With a whispered command for Derek to wait, he carried his sleeping son to his own room. It'd be better if the little boy woke up with him than in his own room with two random boys he has never seen before and the guest-room was occupied by Jess who, with a quick check, he made sure was sound asleep.

After tucking his son in and kissing him on the forehead, he came back to the child's room. He almost laughed at the sight of little Derek Morgan _literally _sleeping on his feet, unsteadily swaying on his feet.

"Hey, Morgan"

The little boy jumped and looked around wildly. Hotch crunched down, putting his hands on his small shoulders and Derek calmed down, blinking wildly with sleep. Hotch smiled sympathetically.

"Let me find something for you to sleep in, real quick"

Derek nodded, fighting for his eyelids not to drop. Hotch opened Jack's pajamas draw and pulled out a set Jack had gotten for his birthday months ago and was _still _way too big on him. He suspected it would even be big for Morgan, but better too big than too small, right? He also grabbed an old one, one he was pretty sure he was supposed to get rid of a while ago because it _definitely _didn't fit his son anymore.

He handed the big one for Derek "The bathroom is…" But the boy was already pulling his FBI agent costume off, not minding changing in front of his boss the slightest. He was _way _too tired for this "… Alright then"

He never understood why his son wanted a bunk bed, but now he was thankful for it. The man quickly pulled the duvet back and helped a – now fully clothed with the pajamas – very sleepy Derek to climb the ladder.

He was right about the pajamas; they were big enough to swallow the boy's hands and feet and he had to admit that Derek Morgan looked adorable in a 101 Dalmatians pajamas; a huge red shirt with one of the Dalmatians in the center and black pants filled with tiny red paws.

The thought of _Garcia would completely loose her mind _crossed his mind, followed by _… And certainly erase my existence from the entire legal and cyber world if I don't send her a picture of this_, so he quickly grabbed his phone and snapped a picture from the sleeping boy. Not that he's afraid of Penelope Garcia but… No buts. Penelope Garcia could be one _hell_ of a scary woman when she wanted to be. Thankfully his poker face was flawless. She would never know she scared him. Because Aaron Hotchner does not get scared. Ever.

Or so he made the world believe and would like to keep it that way, thank you very much.

He covered Derek with the duvet and tucked him in. Next he sat down on the other bed and gently coaxed Reid awake.

"… Is it morning already?" The little boy rubbed his eye with his fist. Hotch didn't even had the chance to fight his smile.

"No, buddy. I just got something of Jack's for you to change into"

"Oh" Spencer yarned. His eyelids wanted to drop, but he got up anyway and just stood there. Swaying slightly and falling asleep. Hotch chuckled.

"Mind if I help you?" _Well, if Morgan had no problem with changing with me in the room, surely Reid won't either? He was skeptical when I helped him with his shirt back in San Francisco but…_

Hotch interrupted his own thoughts when the little boy unceremoniously raised his arms, allowing him to take off his shirt. So Hotch made a quick job of changing him into the Ninja Turtles pajamas that were also swallowing him. So after settling him down on the bed, he took another picture. Then he tucked him in, brushed his bangs of his forehead and walked out of the room.

After changed into sweatpants and a comfy shirt he laid down next to his son.

The weight of the situation suddenly washed over him.

And for someone who always showed no fear, he surely felt terrified.

All of sudden he went from one child to three. Not only that; two of them are his agents, who are now children. But at the same time, are not. They have all their memories – good and bad – and to a certain extent, are not completely children, even if they had already really started acting as such.

Next to that, he had to figure out _what _to tell his son and _how _to tell Jess the truth. And not to mention, he'd have to explain – even though he could not _really _explain it – to Strauss.

And on _top _of that, there's still the very real possibility of his now very vulnerable agents (who he cared a _lot _about, loved them as his own family – not that they necessarily need to know that) being still in imminent danger.

Well, of something he was sure; tomorrow would be a very long day. He might as well not to be completely exhausted on top of it.

He turned to his side and, watching his little boy sleep, Aaron Hotchner fell into a dreamless sleep.

…

Penelope Garcia squealed. It was very late in the night, after 2 am, but she squealed. To this day, for her, was a mystery how she has never gotten any complaints from her neighbors. Well, she wasn't complaining.

Looking down at her phone she felt her heart melting inside her chest. She had just received two _adorable _pictures from her boss (no message attached) of a very adorable mini Derek Morgan and a teeny tiny Spencer Reid. She was in love.

And then, when she thought she couldn't handle anymore adorableness, JJ sent a message that said:

_Blonde Gumdrop (2:24am): some cuteness for u. try to survive till tmrw. luv u 3_

And after that, many pictures arrived on her phone. A few of the three mini agents playing around on the lobby of the hospital in _adorable _costumes _can Peter Pan get any cuter? What about the tiny FBI agent? How can my chocolate thunder god be so hilariously adorable? What about tiny Em? She was born to be Snow White! Oh, I totally have to get a Wonder Woman costume for her! _

Next came pictures of the three sleeping on the jet that got her awing loudly. And last came two pictures; one of Emily, wearing what looked like to be one of JJ's shirt as a nightgown, laying down on bed by herself, even though she could still see a little bit of JJ, where Emily's hand was clinging to her shirt and she had two fingers of her other hand on her mouth. The second was a selfie JJ took with the little girl, Emily now cuddled up even tighter to her chest and the smile on JJ's face was one Garcia had only seem before when the blonde was with her son.

Garcia went to bed with a wild grin on her face. She couldn't wait for the next day.

…

JJ felt like she could sleep for another entire day when her alarm woke her up. She groaned and whined, feeling very bad for herself, but got up anyway, frowning in confusion when she realized she wasn't in her own room but in the guest-room instead.

_Hm, weird. Not weirder than my dream though._

Chuckling to herself and still half asleep, the blonde made her way downstairs.

"MOMMY!"

Her smile felt like it could split her face in two and she instinctively bent down to catch the tiny blonde jumping in her arms. Henry squealed with delight as his mother kissed him all over his face, loudly expressing how much she missed him and how much she loves him. The little boy wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and she straightened up, making her way to the kitchen, knowing by the wonderful smell that her husband had woken up earlier and had prepared something heavenly for breakfast.

She froze on her tracks when she saw brunette little girl sitting on a chair by the table, looking very uncomfortable and not knowing where to look.

_Holy guacamole! It wasn't a dream!_

"Mommy, did you meet Em'ly? She has the same name as auntie Emmy, Mommy, Em'ly!" Henry yelled on her ear and she grimaced.

"Inside voices, baby"

"Sorry"

The woman fully entered the kitchen and returned the unsure smile the tiny brunette sent her way. Will, for his part, seemed like he had been trying to ease the little girl, letting her sit on the other side of the table from where himself and Henry sat and trying to draw Henry's attention to himself instead to the other kid suddenly in their house.

"Good morning, Cher" Will greeted "… And yes, she met Emily already, buddy. Remember what she told you? Her mommy is a friend of mommy from work"

"Oh" Henry giggled. JJ went around the table and settled Henry down on his booster seat, kissing the top of his head. Then she went back to the empty sit next to Emily's and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. When she brushed the girl's bangs out of her eyes she smiled at her cheeks turning pink.

"How did you sleep, sweetheart?"

The little girl shrugged and kept her eyes on her half eaten breakfast "Good"

JJ sighed and rubbed Emily's back gently, deciding to let her be for the time being. Henry, who had been watching the interaction closely, frowned. He had liked this Emily girl and it would be fun have someone to play with, but his mommy just came back home! Why wasn't she giving him _any _attention.

So he did what he did best to get his parents attention. He loudly called for her and started to tell her how much he missed her and everything he got to do with his daddy while she was away.

No one could resist his adorable charm.

"That's awesome baby! I'm so glad you had fun!"

"Hmhmm" Henry nodded "Mommy, can we p'ay soccer?"

JJ smiled "Not right now, buddy, everyone has to get ready pretty soon but maybe when we get home later?"

"Yeah!" The little boy clapped his hands. Then he eyed the other child. He didn't like his mommy giving this strange attention, but as the sensitive child he has always been, he quickly realized she didn't look very happy and wasn't eating her breakfast. _But his daddy made breakfast and daddy's breakfasts are always the best!_ "Em'ly! You know play soccer?"

The brunette looked up when she heard her name "Hm? Oh, yeah, hmm, soccer… I dunno… A little?"

"You can p'ay wiff us, right Mommy?"

The blonde smiled brightly from one child from another "Of course, baby!"

"An' you can p'ay on Mommy's team cuz Mommy's really good! An' I'm really good too!"

"Hey!" Will exclaimed in mock offence and pocked his son on the ribs "What about me, little man?"

Henry laughed but didn't answer. Emily cracked a small smile at the interaction and JJ chuckled.

"Babe, he has a point; you're not all that good"

"Oh… What is that? Everyone's teaming up against me? Oh, I'll show you guys who's bad! What do you say, Emily?" He smiled at the little girl "Want to be on my team instead? And beat those blondies butts?"

Emily chuckled. Will had been super nice to her since she came downstairs and they usually got along alright before… This. But she had been very unsure of herself and uncomfortable since waking up, but now with JJ on her side, for some reason, she felt better. Safer even. She nodded her head.

"What is that?" JJ pretended to be offended "Already trading me, missy? Well, that's fine. We'll show those… Brunettes who does it better, right little man?"

Henry threw his little arms up and cheered "Yeah!"

"Well, we'll see about that, right Emily?" He held his fist up for a fist bump and she bumped it, smiling a bit less shyly.

"Well, as much as this is fun, this Mommy is going to be very late if we don't hurry. Will…"

"I'll drop him off at the daycare, Cher, don't worry" Will smiled. She smiled back and nodded towards the doorway to Emily.

The little girl got up from the seat and went to grab her plate, but Will gently stopped her "Don't worry about it. If I remember correctly, it is my turn to do the dishes anyway" Will winked, referring to the regular dinners JJ hosted in her house for the team. Emily smiled and turned to run out of the kitchen. She stopped however and spun back in her heels.

"Thank you, Will. Breakfast was delicious" Emily blushed and off she went. JJ chuckled and looked from the little girl to her smiling husband and from him to her son, by now covered in a sticky syrup mess.

She was very aware that whatever was to come, whatever would happen next would not be easy, but looking at her family and feeling her heart warming inside her chest, she somehow knew everything would be okay.

**Confession time! I am not really a big fan of Will – don't ask me why, I don't know either – but I dunno, I'm kind of falling a tiny bit in love with him in this story? (**_**How's that, Cla, you're the one writing it? If you don't like him, how is that you're writing him in a way that makes you love him? You make no sense at all, kid)**_** Anyway…**

**As always, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the support, and please, don't be shy about telling me what you want to see next, whose relationship you want to read about… I do have a plan for the story, but nothing is decided in the between so don't be shy about giving any ideas! **


	5. She Is Going To Hug Us To Death!

**Hello you guys! Today's chapter is a bit smaller than usual, but I decided to wait and leave the very awaited (or dreaded, depends in who's point of view you see it ;)) SHOPPING TRIP! Right now, enjoy Derek and Spencer's first morning on Hotch's and their first day back at the bullpen.**

**And on another note; I have been writing like a manic lately, as I said before, and besides the two I'm posting right now, I have 3 more stories with a good amount of chapters already ready (including one with De-Aged Emily, a bit darker plot though, more angst) and many, many, many one shots of all kinds. Fluff, smut, team bonding, the team getting in trouble together, some hurt/comfort, plenty of Jemily romantic ones… You name it. I also am very open to request, as I love challenges so I am starting a one shot book pretty soon :) so if you already have a request, you can leave it here or wait until I put it up.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or its characters.**

Chapter 5

Derek Morgan woke up to the feeling of someone watching him. He opened his eyes and was not prepared to find wide hazel eyes barely an inch away from his face. He squealed.

"Good morning, Morgan!"

"Oh, shit!" The 8 year old put a hand on his chest "You could have killed me. Literally, I could have fallen off the bed!"

"No, you wouldn't! That's what the guard rails are for, silly!"

Derek blinked, trying to make himself more awake. He took a look around; child room, bunk bed, a tiny Reid sitting in front of him and red pants with little paws. _Wait, what?_

"Hey man! Check out my sweats!" He exclaimed happily. Reid looked at them and dropped his head to the side.

"… What about them?"

"They're dope, man! Well, the Disney doggie on the shirt not so much, but look at those babies!" He wiggled his legs around, dropping his duvet on the floor. Not that he noticed. "Do you think Hotch will let me go to work with them? And a cooler shirt, of course… Garcia would love them! And JJ would hate them! Do you think they sell those in adult size somewhere?"

"… And they say I'm the weird one"

That stopped the older boy in his tracks. He looked up at Spencer and narrowed his eyes "_Who _says you're weird?"

Spencer shrugged and turned in all fours, sliding down the edge of the bed until her tiny feet found the ladder "When I was little? Everyone. Why?"

"Because I'm gonna fight them!" He promised, bailing one hand in a fist and pushing his other palm with it "Nobody messes with my little brother!"

Spencer reached the floor and looked up at Morgan curiously "I'm your little brother?"

Derek brushed it off, crawling towards the ladder; he would have jumped down, but that might give little Reid a small heart attack. He was going to do it sometime soon though. "Well, yeah. Like Emily's my little sister"

"… Emily's older than you!" Spencer frowned "… Or _was_ older than you…"

The older boy reached the floor and shrugged "So? I don't care how old she is; she's my little sister and you are my little brother and I protect my family, always. Got it?"

Spencer felt warmth spread in his cheek and in his heart at his friend's statement. Before he could help it, his arms were wrapped around the older boy's waist.

"I love you, Morgan!"

Derek was taken back for a second, not used to the Doctor being so physical, but then again, himself was having many urges to do things he wouldn't normally do. So he wrapped his arms around the small boy and squeezed him.

"I love you too, pretty boy"

"Wait!" Spencer pulled away "What about JJ? She's not you little sister too?"

Derek scoffed "Of course not, Reid! JJ is team-mom! Don't you know it?"

"Oh" Reid blinked. He wasn't sure about the logic of the whole concept, but somehow, it did make _some_ sense to him… Especially right now "And Hotch's team-dad?"

"There you go, you caught the spirit" The older boy smiled and started to lead the way to the door "… And Rossi is the grumpy grandpa!"

"What about Garcia?" Little Spencer pondered as the two children started to walking down the hall as if they owned the place.

"She's the cool big sister who gets to live on her own but is still around all the time" Spencer nodded in agreement. They started down the hall.

"… What about Elle?"

Derek stopped for a moment and though. Then he shrugged "Every family has someone that have gone rough and walked out, am I right?"

Reid stopped, staying behind as Derek headed to the kitchen. The young doctor frowned, deep in thoughts "Hmm… No? And what about Gideon?"

The little boy sprinted forwards to catch on with the older boy. He did just in time to see a boy slightly smaller than Derek run with a mad smile on his face until he was standing right in front of the older boy's face.

"Is it true?!"

Derek blinked. "Ahh… What is?"

"That you've got a dog and he's coming to stay here with us?" The kid was bouncing on his toes, excitement coming out of him in waves. Derek stared at him for another moment, then his gaze shifted for her boss standing, all ready to go, with a 'Superdad' mug in his hands and his features pulled in the closest thing to distress Aaron Hotchner could manage. The boy looked back to the hopeful boy and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, his name is…"

"YES! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" He jumped forwards and pulled Derek into a tight hug "I'VE ALWAYS WANTED A BROTHER AND NOW I GOT TWO!" He let go from a wide eyed Derek and engulfed a paralyzed Reid in a similar hug "A BIG BROTHER AND A LITTLE BROTHER! AND A DOG!"

"… Jack, remember, they won't be staying here forever, alright?" Hotch tried his best to be gentle "They'll be with us only until their parents can take them back and when they go, so does the dog"

"I know dad" Jack let go from the tiniest boy and spun around in a single jump "But it's going to be so fun!"

"Yeah, yeah…" The man had to smile. It was beyond great to see his son so happy. "Can you go finish get yourself ready now? The boys still have to eat their breakfast, but you'll be late for school if you don't leave soon"

"Alright dad!" And he spun around again to face his new 'brothers' "I'll see you guys tonight!"

And off he went.

Hotch looked at his frozen agents. Derek slowly looked up to him with wide eyes. The man shrugged.

"He has a lot of energy"

"… I guess that would make him our little brother too?" Spencer asked and looked at Morgan.

Just before he could answer, a blonde woman came out of virtually nowhere and walked forwards with crossed arms and skeptical face.

"What are your names?"

"Oh, well, hello you" Derek smirked, looking the woman up and down. She was wearing short and a Smurf t-shirt. He got his game face on and flexes his muscles "… For someone as beautiful as you, I can be anyone"

"Or dear god!" The woman gasped in horror, turning to Hotch. He had an 'I told you so' look on his face and calmly took a sip of his coffee. She looked back to the boys "Oh my God!"

"… Do I have something on my face?" Derek wondered out loud. Spencer rolled his eyes at him.

"No, you don't. I believe Hotch told Jess here what happened and she didn't believe in him. Until now, that's it"

"Oh"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Boys, come eat breakfast, we have to leave soon. I have a feeling it's going to be a little while until she comes out of it…"

"Oh… Oh my GOD! OH MY GOD! OHMYGOD!"

…

An issue they hadn't thought beforehand? The kids had no shoes.

All Rossi had managed to find their sizes on the mysterious store that only had costumes for kids, were pairs of socks. The kids didn't mind it on the hospital or on the flight home and it had slipped the adults minds.

So when JJ walked into the bullpen she had a **very **upset Emily resting on her hip and the biggest pair of Henry's shoes she could find to give Spencer.

Emily refused to take her face away from the blonde's shoulder until she heard the door of her office closing behind then. She looked up and glared at her friend.

"This is an entire new level of humiliating"

JJ rolled her eyes at the girl's drama "You do realize that none of the people in the building knows you are you, right?"

"The team does!"

"They're not here yet, are they?"

"I don't care!"

JJ sighed and bent down to settle the little girl on her feet, which was covered in a pair Henry's of black socks "Fine then. Feel free to sulk for how long you wish; I have a few files I have to go through anyway, just do it quietly, please?"

Emily kept glaring, arms crossed tightly. Since the girl was indeed fairly tiny for a 6 year old, JJ had managed to find a shirt of Henry's that fit on her, a tight fit but it was a Justice League grey shirt so Emily was pretty satisfied – going shopping later with Emily _and _Garcia would be _fun._ Along with that, she found the tiniest spandex shorts she had and put it on her. It was still pretty big, of course, so she got a black scarf of hers and turned into an improvised belt.

It wasn't all that bad. It could be worse.

JJ sat down on her chair and grabbed the files she needed out of her mountains (how she always knew where everything was? It would remain a mystery for many years to come) and started working on it.

With the corner of her eye she kept watching the little girl. She was fine at home, but at the prospect of being seen by more people, she became very grumpy and JJ understood why. Emily has always been someone very private and conserved, never allowing weakness and vulnerability to show for the outside world, so being in this situation, a helpless child, JJ knew it had to be incredible troubling for her.

That being said, JJ wasn't about to spoil the little girl rotten. If Emily wanted to get grumpy and nasty, then fine. But do it on her own; JJ wasn't going to give it any attention.

And like it always does with children, the lack of attention did the trick. Albeit it did take longer than JJ expected (but then again, Emily Prentiss was nothing if not stubborn), the little girl made her way around the desk until she was by the blonde's side, holding her head down.

The blonde turned to face her and waited.

"… I'm sorry, Jayje. I didn't want to be bad, I'll be a good girl now, I promise"

JJ sighed, not liking the girl's choice of words, a couple of red alarms going out in her mind, but she pushed that aside for now. She reached down, grabbing the girl from under her armpits and lifted her to a tight hug, Emily's tiny arms wrapping tightly around her neck.

"You were not bad, Emily, you are never bad, you hear me? Naughty and stubborn sometimes, sure, but never bad, you hear me?"

Emily nodded but didn't let go for a while. She could deny how much as she wanted, but lately her favorite place, the only place she felt entirely secure, was wrapped up in the blonde's arms.

JJ rubbed her back for a while and then pulled her away. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a tablet and headphones. She handed them to the little girl with a gentle smile.

"You can go sit in the couch for a little while… Or, you know, you can stay right here?" She shrugged, not making a big deal out of it and focused back on the file in front of her. She smiled when the little girl settled herself with her back against her front, put the headphones on and started watching something on the tablet.

Half an hour later, hurried knocking grabbed the blonde's attention and before she could call out, two little bodies stormed inside.

"Jayje! Emily!" "Jayje, look at my pants!"

Emily jumped and JJ chuckled.

Derek was wearing some red pants filled with black little paws _– because of course he was_ –, a plain black shirt and flip flops that were a tad too small for him. Besides him stood little Spencer, wearing the green pants of his Peter Pan costume and a grey shirt – more than a little too big on him – with a pocket on the chest and, as predictable, only had socks covering his tiny feet.

"Well, hello to you too. And yes, Derek, I see your pants, they are very cute, even if they _are_ filled with footprints of sanguinary, feral beasts"

Derek beamed.

"Hi guys" Emily waved. She gave the tablet and the headphones back to JJ with a 'thank you' and jumped off of her lap "What's this?"

"Oh" Spencer smiled and held out a small bag at her, his cheeks turning pink "… We realized we didn't have any footwear this morning, so I figured you wouldn't have any either. Derek borrowed one of Jack's and I asked Hotch if he had something old that could maybe fit you"

"And that, Spencer Reid, is why I love you!" The brunette kissed his cheek and stopped herself before running off to the couch "Oh, and Jayje brought you a pair of Henry's too!"

The boy brightened up as JJ took out the new shoes out of her bag, looking between them and Spencer feet "I think they'll fit just fine, or at least okay enough for a few hours"

"Thank you, Jayje!" Spencer grabbed the white tennis shoes and ran to join Emily on the couch, who was delighted as she put on Jack's old black shoes; they were too big and she certainly wouldn't dare to run with them, but they were shoes non-less.

"So, Jayje…" Derek started, looking at the woman with what seemed to be something between fear and hopefulness "Is Garcia here yet?"

The woman shrugged "I haven't seen her yet"

"You won't let her hug us to death, right?" Emily asked, looking very seriously at the blonde. She laughed.

"No, I won't. I promise"

"Those are perfect!" Spencer screamed in delight as he jumped out of the couch and landing on his newly shoe covered feet. It was the kind that had Velcro strips (Henry always had a knack to untie his shoes with five minutes of tied. _Always_)

"They fit alright?" JJ asked. The little boy nodded excitedly.

"They fit perfectly!"

"Good. They're yours now, then"

Spencer looked up with a frown "Jayje…"

The blonde smiled "Just say thank you, Spence. We both know in the end I'll win the argument you're about to start"

The boy accepted defeat and smiled at her. JJ didn't see it coming – Spencer normally being quite shy and reserved when it comes to physical contact – but the boy suddenly took off and flew into her arms. She lifted him up and hugged him.

"Thank you JJ! Thank you very much!"

She chuckled "You're welcome"

Meanwhile, sitting in the little couch, a little green monster was slowly taking over a certain chocolate eyed girl. She didn't even notice she was glaring at the hugging duo but when she did she shook it off.

_What was that?_ She wondered _Why did Spencer hugging JJ made me mad?_

"Need any help there, Prentiss?" Derek asked, a teasing streak in his tone. Emily looked down at her shoes – which she still hadn't managed to tie, no matter how hard she tried – and back up at him with a glare.

"Shut up. I can do it by myself"

The boy raised his arms in mock surrender "Whatever you say, Princess"

JJ kept Spencer in her lap as he started to tell her all about the nutrients and insane amount of sugar that is present on all of the children brands of cereal and how they were not appropriate at all for a child's breakfast. She nodded along with him, finding it funny as he waved his arms around, a newfound enthusiasm that not even adult Spencer possessed while citing numbers and percentages.

Derek remained watching Prentiss trying – and failing – to tie her shoes until he felt bad for her and offered to help, maybe teach her. She stared at him for a long moment, ready to deny and send him to a very bad place when she looked up and saw that he was being genuine, she deflated and accepted the help.

All was going calm and good, until the door was pushed open without a warning first.

"WHERE ARE MY ADORABLE TEENY TINY LITTLE GUMDROP BABIES?"

JJ jumped with fright and then playfully rolled her eyes, chuckling.

Derek was slightly scared, but in the end was ecstatic to see the blonde and smiled.

Reid looked between her and the other blonde, looking hesitant.

Emily looked completely and utterly terrified.

"She _is _going to hug us to death!"

**Oh Em… I don't think I blame you, I might be a bit scared too… SO, what you guys think? Leave your comments bellow, they make my day happier and the writing happen faster *wink wink* haha**

**And stay tuned for new books!**


	6. I'm not wearing that!

**Hello guys! So, this chapter ended up getting waaaaay to big so I decided to split it in two; the mall trip (which I am not 100% satisfied with) and the introduction of Sergio and Clooney for the story. To be honest, I am happy that all that setting up has gotten out of the way and I am looking very forwards to start writing the next episodes. I'm itching to throw some angst in and I may or may not already have a couple of ideas. If you have any requests, want to see some angst thrown in a specific character, lemme me know.**

**Also, if the chapter is not good, please forgive me I'm a bit sick so not sure if I trust my judgment right now. Well, if it's terrible I can always re-write it later, huh?**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still own nothing. Not Criminal Minds, not is characters.**

**6\. I'm not wearing that!**

The original plan was to wait for Hotch to finish his meeting with Strauss before all of them went together to the mall buy the children's clothes and other utilities, but after a couple of hours with no word from their boss, Rossi walked into JJ's office (which had become an unorganized chaos not long after Garcia's arrival) and announced that Hotch probably wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon and they should definitely get going before she decided she wanted to see the child sized agents with her own eyes.

When the six of them arrived at the mall, it was past 11 a.m. and JJ was just about to throw everything up and run for the hills, so, for her own sanity's sake, she decided that the first stop would be at the food court, hoping that after fed, maybe the 5 children would stop their non-stop whining.

Yes, 5, because Garcia and Rossi decided it was a great time to embrace their inner child.

"Derek, don't throw your fries at Spencer… Seriously Pen? You too? And Emily, _please_ eat your food"

The other blonde smiled sheepishly, biting on the french-fry she was just about to throw at Rossi, looking like the perfect picture of innocence. The little girl on the seat to her left shook her head and pushed her tray away "I'm not hungry"

JJ was trying to clean Spencer's face with a wet tissue as the kid had practically fallen asleep mid-bite and dropped his head face first on his plate. The blonde sent an exasperate look at the little brunette and sighed "Emily, if you don't start to eat right now we are going to leave to start shopping and when we go for ice-cream later, you are not getting any" and much to her despair, the 6 year old simply shrugged.

"We are getting ice-cream?" Derek brightened up "Yes!" and high-fived Garcia.

"Alright, you guys" Rossi got up from his chair, rubbing his dilated belly "… You have fun with your shopping, here" He handed a credit card and a small note to JJ "The password is on the note, and please, no arguments, just accept it" He raised a pointed brown to the blonde, who closed her mouth. In reality, she was feeling a bit too exhausted to even _try_ to argue.

"You're not coming with us?" Derek asked, tilting his head to the side. Rossi laughed and shook his head.

"No, no, kid. My role here is to provide the meanings to pay for your purchases. In case you need me, I'll be on the bookstore on the first floor reading a good novel and by that I mean, please, do not need me"

The two blondes rolled their eyes simultaneously. JJ lifted Spencer into her hip and the boy didn't even stir in his sleep, wrapping his tiny teeny arms around her neck and laid his head on her shoulder.

"Rossi, wait!" JJ called out "I just remembered, could you please get Spencer's new glasses from the store? Hotch said they should be there, he ordered them while we were still in San Francisco"

The old man sighed "Fine, fine" The blonde smiled as the other blonde held out the necessary papers for the older agent "… The things I do for you people…"

"By Grumpa! By!"

"Grumpa?" Garcia questioned the older kid. Derek shrugged with a big smile.

"Grumpy grandpa!"

"Oh my God!" Garcia laughed "That was a great one, my Mini Chocolate Love"

"Oh God, and I thought you guys were strange before" JJ laughed "Come on, guys, let's start. Pen, hold their hands, please"

"I don't need hold nobody's hand!" Emily announced, making JJ turn around mid first step and look at the girl.

"Emily, please, don't start. Not again"

The girl huffed "I'm not starting anything!"

"Alright, my loves, let's all remain in peace with one another, shall we?" Penelope grabbed Derek's hand and shifted her gaze between the two girls. JJ took a deep breath and adjusted Spencer on her hip.

"Let's just go" She asked, forcefully grabbing Emily's hand despite her protests. Better have a grumpy Emily than to have a missing Emily.

They decided – _Garcia decided_ – that their first stop should be this huge store they had in that mall that sold exclusively children clothes and, apparently, they were to _die _for.

The store was _huge _alright. Derek and even Emily stopped her ongoing tantrum to stare at it in awe (and horror as Garcia all but ran to grab them a shopping cart).

"Where should we start?"

The two older children looked at each other.

…

"I'm not wearing that"

"Come on, Emily, you have said that for the last five shirts I showed you"

"Then you gotta stop picking the wrong shirts!"

"But they are so adorable!"

"I'm not wearing pink, Penelope!"

"But what about this one? It's blue!"

"With glitter and a huge pink bunny right in the middle of it!"

"But it's so pretty! You are going to look so cute in it!"

"No!"

"Emily, come on! At least let me choose a dress for you!"

"No!"

"… What about this one?"

"Noooooooo! No! No! No!"

"It's not pink! It has no pink, or glitter on it"

"It says 'playground princess!'"

"It's adorable! This one's adorable too"

"'I have daddy issues'? Are you serious Garcia?"

JJ watched the back and forth sitting in a small stool she found, Spencer on her lap somewhere between sleeping and awake, both their heads going back and forth as if watching a tennis match.

The media liaison was just about to step in, sensing that Emily was getting dangerously close to either throw a major tantrum or start crying hysterically when Derek ran back from the isle next to them with a few t-shits in his hand and a big smile on his face.

"Look Prentiss!" He called out, holding up his findings. The one in the front was a grey tee with 'Back off! I have a crazy aunt and I'm not afraid to use her' written in blue. It took Emily a couple of minutes (because now it always took _forever _for her to read the tiniest sentences) and she started to laugh. "You can use if when we go out with Pen!"

The said blonde gasped in mock offence "I am wounded! Now, why would you do this to me, my Tiny Teeny Chocolate Thunder?"

He shrugged "Cuz is funny! Look this one!" He held up a yellow one with 'put on your big girl panties and deal with it'. Emily nodded and clapped.

"Well… I suppose those are cute too" Penelope shrugged.

"… And my personal favorite…" He held up a blue shirt with the writing in white that said 'I'm a drama queen just expecting for an act'

Emily scowled and before the women knew, the kids were running after each other though the islands.

Garcia's eyes widened in panic. JJ simply stood up from the stool, settled Spencer back on her hip and grabbed her friend's arm as she followed after the two troublemakers.

…

"Wow! I want this one!" Derek exclaimed, holding up a Superman shirt. JJ nodded and pointed to the ever growing pile inside their cart.

"Jayje, can I try this one?" Spencer showed her a button up white shirt. She smiled and nodded her head.

"Spence, why don't you choose a couple more of this shirt in other colors? I know you love those"

"Alright!" The little boy ran to a rack within JJ's eyesight. Derek came back with another hero shirt, this one being Iron Man's. He looked up to the same far point JJ's eyes were glued at.

"… How long do you think it will take before she tries to physically harm Garcia?"

The blonde bit her lip but decided against saying anything. To be honest, she has been wondering the same for a few minutes now.

Little Emily was walking around the 'boys' sections and finding many shirts she liked. Of course Penelope was devastated and following the little girl around. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but they clearly could see Emily's frown deepening, her cheeks growing pink with rage.

Spencer came back struggling to carry the two more shirts – one blue and one red – and joined the other two in watching the girls.

…

Two minutes was the answer.

Penelope reached out to try and take yet another 'boy' shirt from her hand and Emily bit her on the arm.

…

"I don't wanna!" Emily whined.

"You brought it on yourself, young lady"

"But… She was being annoying!"

"I don't care. We don't bite, Emily! We are not four legged smelly furry demonic creatures!"

"… You mean dogs?"

The five were now in the dressing room. Since it was a child's only store, it had a single dressing room with many booths. Garcia was sitting outside the door of the boy's and handing them the clothes for them to try on while JJ was helping Emily. They were currently trying on dresses.

Emily was not impressed. But after the biting incident, Garcia had easily guilt tripped her into agreeing on choosing not only one but _two _dresses.

She looked miserable as JJ slid the third dress she'd be trying on over her head and adjusted it place.

"Look at that! Em, this one looks really good on you! Look!"

Emily turned to inspect herself on the mirror and was surprise to find out that JJ was not wrong.

She was wearing a cute polka dot black and white dress that was tight on her breast area and loose on the rest. She slowly spun around, studying herself in all angles before finally admitting defeat. She loved it.

"Oh, my Beautiful Raven Haired Baby Princess! Look how adorable you look!"

Emily looked down with a slight blush as her friend's praise and JJ's hand landed on her shoulder. She was about to say something when the boy's door opened and walked out a Derek Morgan in confident strides.

He was wearing dark jeans, a dark blue Captain America shirt and a black open jacket to top it off. Garcia cheered as he posed and sent her kisses and took many pictures with her phone.

"Oh, my Tiny Charming Chocolate MiniGod, how can you be so freaking adorable?"

Derek made a pose and sent a smug grin to the bubbly blonde "It's a talent, Babygirl"

"Oh my God!" Garcia yelped and physically pushed Morgan out of the way. The boy looked outraged at the action. Emily giggled and even JJ bit back a chuckle. "Spencer Reid, my Adorable Baby Genius, you look outstanding! Look at that! I love it!"

The tiny boy stepped out, his cheeks as red as his adorable social shirt that was tucked in his dark jeans and he also had a black suspender on. JJ could already imagine how even more irresistibly adorable the boy would look with his new glasses on.

"Oh my God, Spence, you look fantastic!" JJ let go from Emily's shoulder and joined her friend in gushing over the smaller kid. Derek stood next to Emily and crossed his arms, more than a little jealous from having Garcia's attention stolen from him.

"Huh. Of course they like him better, he's tinnier and shy and nerdy and… And… He's Spencer" The boy rolled his eyes "He better enjoy it; when we get back to our own bodies, we all know who'll have all the ladies attention back"

He stormed away, back into his dressing booth. Emily simply stood there, watching Garcia styling Spencer's hair and JJ pulling his shirt out of his jeans to tuck them in again.

She walked back into her booth and took off the pretty dress, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in it as she always did in all the ones she was forced to use when she was a kid. The first time that is.

She got rid from the dress but the feeling didn't go away.

…

"Em? What kind of ice cream do you want?"

They had finally finished buying most of the things they needed. They already had normal clothes, jackets, underwear, pajamas, socks… The only thing JJ could think about they had yet to get were shoes.

As soon as they walked out of the store with many, many, many bags they called Rossi to help them getting them to the car, which wasn't the easiest job by itself, let alone with 3 little children that were slowly getting grumpier as they got more and more tired.

Before coming back inside, they grabbed a change of clothes for each child and found the family restroom, since Rossi did not want to be responsible for taking the boys by himself to change.

Derek chose blue jeans and an Avengers shirt, Spencer had a baby blue button up and a dark overall and Emily had light jeans and a white long sleeve shirt with a red heart that went from the middle to the bottom right side.

They decided to go get the promised ice cream before going hunt for the shoes and everyone was going to find a table to sit while JJ waited on line when she noticed that Emily had not said what she wanted and looked half dead in her feet.

She nodded to the others to go ahead and looked down to the little brunette. She shrugged.

"You said I don't get ice cream 'cuz I didn't want to eat"

JJ sighed and crouched down.

"I know I did, and I really shouldn't get you one. You barely ate breakfast, you only took two bites of your lunch; what's going on, Em?"

Emily bailed her hand in a fist and rubbed her itching eye. She was getting very sleepy. She shrugged again.

"Nuthin… Jus' not hungry" She finished with a big yarn. JJ frowned and reached forwards, using her fingers to lift her chin and force her to look her in the face.

"Emily Prentiss not hungry? You may have become tiny sized, but you're still you, or did someone switch my best friend with someone else? Are you her identical twin that got separated at birth?" The blonde smiled, tickling the little girl and getting a few giggles out of her "Or maybe you're her evil clone?"

"No" Emily giggled "It's me, Jen"

"Are you sure?" She kept ticking "Are you really sure?"

"Yes, Jen!" JJ smiled and stood, picking up the little girl in a swift move when she saw it was her turn to order.

"Good afternoon, little miss" The teenage girl at the counter smiled at Emily. She suddenly felt shy and her cheeks warmed up "What can I get you? A special treat from your mommy for being a good little girl today?"

Emily felt herself freeze. But JJ didn't falter, simply jolted Emily up a little to get her in a more comfortable position on her hip.

"That she is!" JJ smiled at the little girl "She and the others were really good today, weren't you, Emily?"

The tiny brunette hesitated a little before nodding, feeling a bit unsure, not realizing that two of her fingers were slowly making their way into her mouth. JJ kissed her forehead and urged her to lay her head down on her shoulder.

"I think the day's adventures tired her up a little" The blonde chuckled with the teen "Hmmm… Lemme remember all… Yes, I want three small bowls, one medium, one milk shake and a large sundae, please?"

"Hmm… What flavors, ma'am?"

"Hmm… The small bowls are two cookie dough and one vanilla, the medium's rocky road, the milk shake is chocolate and the sundae's strawberry"

The teen wrote everything down and after JJ paid, they went to the table they friends were to wait for their number to be called.

The blonde sat down and instead of putting Emily on the free chair to her right, she simply adjusted her so she was secure in her lap, a leg at each side of her body and her head resting just underneath her chin. She noticed Emily kept her fingers on her mouth and her other hand once again fisted her shirt in a tight grip.

"JJ, look! I can see!" Spencer yelled. The blonde playfully gasped.

"Oh my gosh, Spence! That's awesome! And your glasses are so cool!"

"I know! Hotch picked them! Do you think he'll like it?" The little boy bit his bottom lip. Derek pat him on the shoulder.

"I think he will, pretty boy. And talking about Hotch, were is he? He didn't forget we gotta pick up Clooney, right?"

JJ rolled her eyes at the mention of the dog and Emily's head shot up, her sleepy eyes widening up to her friend.

"We gotta get Sergio, Jayje!"

"I know, Em, I didn't forget about him, how could I ever forget about the one and only true love of my very best friend?" The blonde teased. She chuckled when the little girl blushed.

"Hey!" Garcia called out in mock offence "What about me? I'm your best friend too!"

JJ rolled her eyes playfully "Of course you are Pen"

"And don't you forget it" The bubbly blonde winked, Emily's heavy head slowly making its way back to JJ's chest.

"Look! Look! Look!" Spencer squealed, jumping up and down in his chair. Nobody had even seen him getting up on it "There's a big bear on that store! And there's a chocolate store! I can see!"

"Very nice, young man, but will you please sit down?"

"Yeah Reid sit down cuz grumpa's heart is really old so he can't get scared" Derek chuckled "… Cuz he's very, very old"

Rossi glared at the little boy and the two blondes who joined laughing.

Soon their number was called and Garcia, Rossi and Derek went to grab their order. As soon as they got to the table everyone grabbed their own and dug in, Derek exaggeratedly rolling his eyes in delight as he ate the first spoon of his rocky road ice cream and Spencer laughed at him, digging in on his small vanilla bowl.

Garcia took a long sip of her milk shake, crying out 'brain freeze' a second later, causing the boys to laugh again. Until Derek put another large spoon on his mouth and also got a brain freeze. Rossi, per usual, watched on their antics pretended not to be amused and JJ grabbed both small bowls of cookie dough; Emily's favorite. She gently poked the little girl, pulling her fingers from her mouth, waking the brunette up from the light slumber and handed her one bowl.

Emily looked up in curiosity. JJ pretended not to notice, laughing at Garcia and the boys and enjoying her own treat. A genuine smile tugged at Emily's lips and the pulled away from the blonde's chest just enough to enjoy the cold treat.

She was asleep before she finished it. JJ smiled, wiped her mouth with wet tissues and allowed her to lay back under her chin, happy in rub small circles in her back while waiting for the others to finish, trying not to cringe as more ice cream ended up in Spencer's new outfit than on his belly.

All things considered, their trip was a success.

… Until they realized that both Emily and Spencer had fallen asleep and Derek was halfway there and they had yet to get their shoes.

Now _that _was a disaster of grumpy sleepy kids screaming and crying and refusing to be put down only to refuse to be picked back up again.

They ended up choosing three pairs for each kid; one pair of traditional all star for each, one pair of flip-flops in different colors for each and matching pairs of boots for Derek and Spencer while Garcia choose a black, simple one for Emily. They did it as fast as they could and Spencer and Emily were blissfully back asleep by the time they left.

**Make sure to leave a review, lemme know what you think ;)**


	7. I Had Almost Forgotten It All

**AND HERE COMES THE DRAMA, EVERYBODY! Haha, I have had people to tell me that no matter how much I try, I can never stay away from drama for long… Of fluff, they say I can never write without fluff… Seeing as those are my two favorite genres… I'm not surprised at all.**

**Anyway, beautiful people, once again, thank you VERY MUCH for all your support and, as promised, I'm starting to include some of your ideas and requests so, send me more. Bring it on u.u**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Trigger warnings: Mentions of child abuse**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Yep. Sad. I know.**

7\. I Had Almost Forgotten It All

"CLOONEY!" Derek squealed in delight when he got the front door of his apartment open and his beloved German Shepherd jumped on his much tinier and weaker than usual frame.

He landed on the ground with a joyful cry, hugging, petting and rolling around with Clooney while the dog barked and licked his beloved human.

Spencer, being now smaller than Clooney was while standing on his back paws, went a bit scared when the dog jumped out and backed up into Hotch's leg. The man picked him up and couldn't help by smile watching the joyful reencounter.

"I missed you too, buddy. I missed you so much!" Derek got up and kept petting Clooney's neck. The dog had apparently only now realized something wasn't quite right with his owner and kept sniffing him, tilting his head in curiosity. The little boy chuckled "Yeah, I'm a little smaller. But that's okay, you know why? Because we are going on a new adventure! We are going to stay with Hotch and Spencer and Jack! And it will be awesome because there will be a lot of people to play with you!"

Hotch wondered if he had finally lost his mind as he was absolutely sure for a moment that the dog had understood every single word his owner said, even going as far as looking in his direction when he was mentioned.

But then again, he currently had his genius agent turned into a 4 year old clinging to his neck so… Yeah, at this point not even a talking dog should be any surprise for him.

"I'm going to get his stuff!" Derek warned before taking off inside his house, Clooney following right on his tail.

Hotch sighed, stepped inside the house and closed the door behind him.

When did his life became this crazy?

…

_Achoo! Achoo!_

"Seriously, Will? Seriously?"

"What?" _Achoo! _"It never came up!"

JJ rolled her eyes and pinched the space between her eyes as her headache was making its slow comeback. She looked down at her husband sitting on the couch and listened to the sound of the running children approaching.

Of course they were _still _chasing after Sergio, the poor cat.

And of course he jumped to the couch and landed _right _on Will's lap.

Who was apparently _very _allergic to cats.

_Achoo! Achoo! __**Achoo!**_

"Alright, you two, why won't you go play with Sergio somewhere else?" The blonde suggested. The little blonde boy shrugged and tried to grab the black cat.

Sergio, however, was a fast learner.

He knew better than to let the little boy's hands get a hold of him.

He sprung into action and flashed into the other room.

"Sergio! Come back!" Henry giggled and ran after him.

Emily, on the other hand, approached the couple and stood really close to JJ's legs, looking down guiltily.

_Achoo! Achoo!_

"'m sorry, Will" She kept staring at her feet. They suddenly looked so interesting out of nowhere "… We can take Sergio back to my house. I can ask my neighbor to feed him"

"No, no Emily" Will's very nasal voice protested. Or tried to. _Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! _"Of course Sergio can stay here-" _Achoo_ "-with us"

JJ raised an unimpressed eyebrow "And what are you planning on doing, William? Sneeze yourself to death?"

"No, Cheer" _Achoo _"I'm planning on simply going on" _Achoo "_A small visit to the allergist first thing in the morning tomorrow" _Achoo _"… And take a shot or something…"

Emily cringed "I'm sorry, Will, you really don't have to…"

"I know, kiddo" _Achoo _"… But I want to"

"Well, I think it's a good idea" The blonde nodded, running a hand through Emily's dark hair "… But he can't stay here for tonight, that's for sure"

"Are we gonna take him back to my 'partament?" Emily looked up, apprehensively biting onto her bottom lip. _Poor Sergio, he's already been all by himself for so long…_ JJ looked down at her adorable little face and smiled.

"I think I have a better idea"

…

"Daddy, look, Derek said Clooney likes me!" Jack was positively radiant. Hotch looked up from where he was _– trying – _to help Jess to prepare the dinner.

"That's awesome buddy. Just please, the three of you, try not to break anything alright? And by anything, I also mean your bones… And your head…"

"Relax, Hotch, Emily's not here" Derek brushed his boss off, playfully tugging a toy from Clooney's mouth. Jack frowned.

"Who's Emily?"

"She's a friend" Spencer shrugged. Clooney went over to him and licked his arm and hand playfully, making him giggle.

Apparently he had grown out of his fear pretty fast.

"And she has a thing for hurting her head" Derek laughed "She's always hitting it everywhere and ending up at the hospital"

"And she doesn't like hospitals" Spencer added, fixing his glasses. Jack tilted his head, deep in thought until he nodded.

"She sounds fun"

"Eh" Derek shrugged "She's okay… Most of the time"

"My Daddy works with an Emily too! She's an agent like he is and she's the partner of Morgan, who's another agent and they kick bad guys butts and they are really awesome and fun!"

"Oh, really?" Derek smirked at his boss. Hotch ignored him.

"Really?" Spencer indulged, happily playing along "Our friend Emily is staying with another one of your parents friends! Her name's JJ!"

"I know JJ!" Jack yelped and laughed while tugging the toy from Clooney "She's awesome! And her son is nice too; his name's Henry"

"We should set up a play date for all of you, huh?" Jess commented, not looking up from her cooking, looking very innocent. Too innocent. "… You know, somewhere… Other than here… With JJ and her kids… And your daddy…"

"Yes!" Jack bounced on his feet. His father was glaring at the impassive blonde.

"That would be awesome!" Derek nodded along, in part very amused by his boss's face but still genuinely excited to the idea of going out with Emily and Henry too.

"Well, we'll see… Maybe in the weekend. Maybe."

Jack narrowed his eyes, studying his father's features before he flashed a big smile at his 'temporally brothers' as he had taken to call them "That's a yes!"

"No. It's a maybe"

"A maybe yes or a maybe no?" Spencer tilted his head. Hotch sighed.

"Just a maybe, Spencer"

"But it's not a maybe no?" Derek joined, a sly smirk on his lips. Jess was biting back her laugher. She loved watching her brother-in-law getting played by those… Children.

Hotch glared at the little boy "No. It's a _maybe_"

Jack punched the air in celebration "So it's a maybe yes! We are going out on the weekend!"

The three little boys ran out, cheering and screaming (yes, even Spencer), Clooney having the time of his life chasing them around.

Jess faced Hotch and broke into a fit of laughter.

Hotch just kept glaring at nowhere.

He frowned when the doorbell rang, the dog going insane at the sound and immediately starting to jump and bark.

_What now?_

…

"… You're joking, right?"

Hotch had the most unimpressed face he could manage as he kept his eyes on the blonde in front of him.

"_Derek! Keep your beast away from me!"_

Derek and Jack were laughing hysterically, doing their best to hold Clooney back by his collar while JJ had almost superhumanly fast swept both Henry and Emily in her arms as soon as she heard the bark and the door being unlocked.

She was basically walking in circles around Hotch, using him as a human shield as Emily laughed and Henry clapped and screamed happily _"A doggy, mommy! Look, a doggy!"_

"I think he thinks you're playing with him, JJ" Spencer supplied helpfully. He stood next to Hotch, head tilted to the side with an amused smile.

"No!" Derek exclaimed in mid-laughter "He know she doesn't like him! He's doing it on propose!"

"Jack! Derek! I know you guys aren't holding him back on propose!" The blonde accused the two children "Hotch!"

The man blinked, doing absolutely nothing to help as everyone kept circling around Reid and him "You want me to take the _cat _in too?"

JJ squealed when the dog suddenly stood on his two back paws, his tail waving happily. Derek and Jack pushed him down to his four legs "_Yes! _But just for tonight!"

The man blinked again.

It _had _to be a joke.

"JJ, you can't possibly be serious! Are you sure you don't want me to keep Emily and Henry too?"

Suddenly the blonde stopped walking and stood straight, looking her boss in the face "I mean… If that's an offer, Will and I haven't had a date night in forever…"

"JJ!"

She began walking again with another squeal as the dog almost caught her "… I am serious about the cat, though, Hotch. Will's allergic, but he'll go to the doctor tomorrow, first thing in the morning"

The man sighed deeply "… Stop by before work to take it back tomorrow morning, Agent Jareau"

JJ flashed him a huge smile "You are the best, Hotch!" And took off towards her car.

"_Bye guys!" "Bye doggy!"_ The two children waved behind her back. The other three waved back with big smiles and the dog barked.

Hotch simply stared at the yellow eyes looking at him through the gaps of its travel box.

When _did _his life become this crazy?

…

"Mommy! Mommy! Daddy! Daddy!" Henry's panicked cries caused his parents to jump out of bed and to their feet before he was even inside their bedroom.

Well, they were a FBI agent and a detective.

They had very valid reasons to be on the panicked side when their son comes barging into their room, screaming and crying in the middle of the night.

They have seen too much in their line of work to not be in high alert at all times.

"Henry?" Will walks towards him, meeting him halfway and picking him up "What's wrong, buddy?"

"It's Emily, Daddy. She's crying"

JJ had just reached her husband and son and her hand froze on the little boy's back, a million scenarios running through her head.

_The Unsub. He's still out there._

Did he find them? _Did he find Emily?_

Were they in danger? _Was Emily hurt?_

She was running to the safe where the guns were kept while Will started questioning the little boy.

"Did you see why she was crying, little man?"

Henry shook his head "I wanted water an' I was comin' here an' I _listened _her an' I got inside the room an' she was cryin' on the bed an' she didn't answer me… She was real sad, daddy"

JJ's entire body sagged in relief at her son's words. They weren't in danger.

Then she tensed up again. _Oh, Em…_

She closed the safe back up, guns still inside, making sure it was locked before she walked to her husband and son, kissing Henry's forehead.

"Thank you for coming to get us, little man, I'm very proud of you"

Henry blushed but pushed his mom's hand away, urging her "Mommy, go!"

The blonde smiled a little at her son and walked out, straight into the guestroom.

And, well, if Emily had been crying on her sleep when Henry saw her, she wasn't anymore.

She was very much awake and all but fell from the bed in fright when the small crack on the door became wider as someone made their way inside.

"Emily!" JJ ran to where the girl had fallen and tried to reach out for her.

Emily flinched violently, not making a single sound, and dragged her little body away, kicking her little feet against the floor as fast as she could until her back hit the wall.

JJ watched on with many, many, many alarming bells going off on her head.

_Having nightmares bad enough to cry in her sleep._

_The terror when someone walked in._

_The backing up as soon as touched._

_And the silent crying._ There was absolute panic in her eyes, but she bit her lip to not make a sound.

Once, when she was a little girl and she had a new baby cousin, JJ had asked her mom why babies cried so loudly and her mother answered; _'babies cry loudly so that their parents can hear them and come to their aid. They know that the sooner they're heard, the sooner someone will come'_.

She was reminded of her mother's words a couple of times when they stumbled upon cases involving little kids victims of negligence and abuse. The first thing she noticed was that they always cried silently.

They did that because they were afraid to be punished for crying but mostly, they did that because they knew; no matter how loud they were, nobody was coming for them.

So kneeling there, watching her best friend in the form of a 6 year old scrambling and shrinking away from her in fear, after having a probably terrifying nightmare but _still_ struggling not to make any noise, JJ learned more about Emily Prentiss than she did in all the years she has known her.

Tears filled her eyes. Her heart shattered inside her chest.

"Em…" She tried again, slowly reaching her hand out. This time, Emily didn't flinch but her tears fell and her chest heaved all that much more "Em… It's okay… It's me, honey, it's me, JJ… You're safe Emily, I promise you, you're okay…"

Emily blinked, her head spinning.

"_Oh, Emily… I wish you were a good girl so I wouldn't have to do this…"_

"_A Prentiss doesn't cry. Swallow those tears before I give you something to cry about. Yes, I'm talking about the belt, so I suggest you shut up"_

"_Damn your father for not taking you with him! Now be quiet! I'll let you out when I think you deserve"_

"_Smile and behave yourself. Don't you dare getting your new dress dirty or go running like a Neanderthal. I swear, girl, you embarrass me and you won't be leaving the closet for three entire days"_

Why? Why was this happening now?

She hadn't thought about any of it in years, had blocked it all away, pretended that nothing ever happened. She had almost convinced herself that the hatred she felt towards her parents was simply because of how much they negligence her and used her as an accessory to look like the perfect family.

She almost had managed to forget all the rest, so why now?

She felt hands on her body, a flat palm pressuring her chest, something warm behind her back, another hand holding her wrist.

She finally felt the burn in her lungs and a sharp pain on the wrist that was being held.

"-breathe Em… Come on, follow me, honey… That's it… Good girl, keep going Em, you're doing so good sweetheart, in and out, in and out"

"JJ!" Finally coming back into reality, the little brunette tried to pull away from whatever was holding her back, desperate to go find her best friend, the one person who she trusted to always protect her.

"Shhhh, I'm here, Em, I'm right here" JJ's sweat and calm voice worked its magic. She turned around and the blue eyes in front of her immediately soothed her. She allowed out the first loud sob "Oh, baby… Come here"

She pulled her friend into her chest and got up, cradling her carefully against her body as she sat down at the messy be. She rubbed gently circles on the girl's back.

"You're okay, Em, you're okay, I promise you"

"Ja-Jayje why? I-I ha-had fo-forgotten… I ha-ad almo-ost for-gotten i-it all… Why, Jay, why?" The tiny girl cried, clinging to her friend as tightly as she dared. JJ sniffled and kissed the top of her head.

"I don't know, baby… I don't know…"

**I've been reading all of my books today… And I realize just how much I always end up hurting my poor baby Em… I promise you guys she's my number 1 favorite! (well, she and JJ) but I always end up hurting her… Poor baby.**

**Anyway, here we got our first little glimpse of our beautiful tiny baby raven warrior princess's past and who here wants to smack her parents? (\o/) and while we're in this subject… If you enjoy drama and little Emily, go check out my new book Their Little Girl, I bet that if you like those things and enjoy my writing, you'll love it!**

**So, as always, thank you guys so much! Leave your reviews, your comments, requests… And stay tune for the next update (I'm always updating this one every two days so, expect the next chapter somewhere during the day after tomorrow!)**


	8. He Could Not Believe In It

**Hey guys! Small chapter leading up to an emotional, angst, fuffy with feels chapter. Hope you enjoy this one too though!**

8\. He Could Not Believe In It

JJ arrived late at work for the first time in… Well, she couldn't really remember when the last time she arrived late was.

Get Emily to fall back asleep after her nightmare was an impossible feat, especially because the tiny brunette was feeling guilty for having woken up the entire house and kept pretending to be sleeping until JJ herself feel asleep. Safe to say Emily was a tiny walking corpse when JJ woke up for the fourth time and it was time to get ready for the day.

Henry had ran to them as soon as he saw them and, much to the woman's surprise, he ran straight for Emily and wrapped the girl in a tight hug and told her: _"s'okay, Emmy, mommy an' daddy won' let the mons'ers to get us!"_. Emily teared up, silently wishing he was right, wishing at least that she had ever had this beautiful innocence when she herself was a kid… At least the first time.

She got herself ready, picking jeans, a purple sweater and her new black boots. It was starting to get colder.

Breakfast was a struggle: once again, the girl didn't want to eat, but this time the blonde set her foot down; Emily had eaten half of her breakfast, half bowl of ice cream and less than a slice of pizza the previous day, she _had _to eat something. So, not wanting to upset the blonde, Emily forced herself to eat.

_Well, at least now I know _why_ she doesn't want to eat. One of the symptoms that children are being mistreated at home is the lack of appetite. If this is exactly how Emily were when she was 6 the first time around, I wonder if was at this age that the abuse started…_

Emily managed to eat everything JJ had plated for her and drink all her juice.

10 minutes later, JJ was standing by the doorway with Will and Henry, about to call out for Emily when she heard gagging and retching from the downstairs bathroom. She sent the boys on their way and it took her a considerable time to get Emily to calm down and understand that she was not upset with her.

So when she finally walked inside the bullpen, Emily fighting against her heavy eyes, snuggled in her arms, JJ already felt more exhausted than she at the end of the day, most days. Exhausted enough to not even falter when her angry looking boss stopped her on her way to her office.

"Good morning, Agent Jareau. Didn't you forget something?"

She stared at her boss, standing in there with arms crossed and unimpressed features and blinked. A second more and her brain caught up. She closed her eyes tightly in frustration. "The cat"

"Yes, Agent Jareau. _The cat._" Hotch then took a better look at the tired blonde and the little girl in her arms. He frowned "… Is everything okay?"

Emily shifted, tightening her arms around JJ's neck and her legs around her waist, burying her face on her shoulder. The blonde gave him a look that clearly said _'later'_ "Where are Spence and Derek?"

"At the conference room with Penelope. We are taking the three of them to the lab to collect new samples in an hour, and I need the documents I asked you before we go. And during the afternoon, they all have appointments with the psychologist I called"

JJ cringed at the word _psychologist. _That would be a real nightmare to convince the kids to agree to; Emily was already whining small protests. She sighed and nodded.

"I'll just drop her off with the others and I'll have everything in your desk in no time"

"Thank you, JJ. And good morning, Emily" His voice softened, face contorting in worry when Emily shifted her head a bit so her face was peeking out from the blonde's neck, just enough for her to see him and give a small wave.

JJ locked eyes with him and walked off to the conference room.

…

To Emily's utter and absolute embarrassment, she started to tear up as soon as JJ made the motion to put her down on her own feet. Derek and Reid, who had ran to greet them loudly and cheerfully went silent, immediately knowing something wasn't right.

They watched with worry as JJ exchanged some whispered words with Garcia, the bubbly blonde's face turning a bit sad and sympathetic. JJ kissed Emily's face many times, whispering something to her and handed her off to Garcia. Emily cuddled to Garcia easily but her big chocolate doe eyes watered and were filled with hurt and fear as the other blonde walked out.

JJ had to stand there, leaning her back against the wooden door and eyes closed for a moment to compose herself. Not even leaving Henry somewhere when he wanted to stay with her instead ever hurt so much: he was always upset and threw the occasional tantrum that broke her heart and physically pained her, sure, but he had never, ever, looked so sad and afraid with her departure. So _lost._

"Pen, is Emily okay?" Derek asked with genuine concern after Emily let very clear that she had no intention of interacting with anyone. Garcia sat down on a chair with Emily in her arms and smiled at the little boy.

"She's fine, Little Thunder God, just had a bad night and not enough sleep. You know how Em can be grumpy when she doesn't get her sleep"

Spencer seemed to buy her answer and frowned "Pen, can we get her some coffee then? Little kids can drink coffee too, just like, much smaller amounts than what we usually have"

Derek nodded along "Yeah! Emily's always less grumpy after her coffee!"

Garcia wanted to shriek with the boys' adorableness and Emily cuddling with her, hiding her tired face on her neck, but forced herself to calm down "That's very sweat, you guys, but I think it'd be better if we just let her sleep for a little while before we have to leave, alright?"

"On that topic" Derek crossed his arms "_Why _we have to give more blood? The doctors already took our blood on the hospital!"

"But they destroyed the samples, remember Derek?" Reid spoke, adjusting his glasses "So we have to give more samples so the scientist here can look at it"

"But… I don't want to be stabbed again!"

"So you prefer remain a kid?"

The older boy kept quiet for beat then deflated "… No"

The little smug doctor nodded "That's what I thought"

Garcia smiled at the kids' interaction, working on ridding Emily from her boots so the little girl could be more comfortable. Derek stuck his tongue out at Reid and ran back to the tablet Garcia provided him to watch some anime or something and Reid went back to his medical book. He couldn't wait until they got back home today; Jess had promised to take him to the library.

…

JJ soon got Hotch the documents he needed and the two spent the remaining of the one hour they had talking about Emily, the blonde informing him of the last events and sharing her concerns. He felt anger cursing through his veins; the few times he had seen Emily with her mother when he worked for the Ambassador, he always thought something there didn't look right.

When the time to leave came around, they went to grab the children and, as Rossi and Garcia got to sit this one out, Hotch just installed Emily's _(Jack's)_ car seat on his car and bucked the kids up. They arrived at the private lab within half an hour and got shown inside immediately.

"Is she planning on leaving some of my blood inside of me? She took like, _hundreds _of little pots already!"

"Derek" JJ chastised and traded an amused look with the lady collecting his blood. Emily hissed in her lap and she looked down at the little girl; the famous Prentiss glare was firmly set on the man taking her blood.

"Hotch, can we go get ice cream after we leave here?" Spencer asked, bending his head all the way back to look up at the man whose lap his was sitting in. He was about to answer with a _'we'll see'_ when JJ beat him to the punch.

"Spence, we're still gonna be here for a little while; when we leave it'll already be lunch time, so we'll go get something… And by something I mean real food"

"Ice cream is real food!" Derek protested, glaring at the lady as she _finally _started to pull the needle out of his arm "It has milk in it! Milk's good for you, right Reid?"

The little boy tilted his head to the side "Well… Milk _is _good for you, but it doesn't really work like this…"

The oldest kid thought about asking about how_ does_ it work, but thought better of it. Once engaged in an explanation, Reid would never stop talking. Ever. So he turned to JJ instead.

"Can we go get ice cream _after _we have lunch?"

The blonde chuckled "We'll see. Right now the four of us get to go wait in another room while Hotch gives the doctors some stuff and answer a few questions"

Derek moaned dramatically "Oh, man. Do we at least have something to do there?"

Spencer jumped off Hotch's lap and patted Derek in the arm as he reached him "I told you to bring a book to kill some time, Morgan"

The older boy huffed "I'd rather die of boredom than to spend hours reading boring books, kid"

Spencer looked unimpressed. He shrugged. "We'll see"

Derek rolled his eyes.

Read was _boring_. It was better do nothing at all.

…

Derek wished he had brought a book with him.

After one hour sitting in the small room with only a TV playing something boring as entertainment, Emily asleep on an also sleeping JJ's chest, he was just about to start climbing the walls.

Reid kept giving him smug grins here in there between his pages.

…

JJ woke up to laughter, angry crying and screaming.

"Derek! Gimme my book back!"

"Come and get it, pretty boy, come and get it!"

She watched on as Spencer became a dark shade of red, his tiny hands curling in fists, anger about to be unleashed.

Emily woke up from her much needed sleep and was immediately very upset and not a little grumpy.

Derek laughed and kept running around.

The blonde's eyes narrowed.

…

JJ sighed in satisfaction, lazily playing with Emily's baby soft hair as the little girl softly snored in her chest, her free hand absently playing with little Spencer's ear, the boy completely immersed in his book, sitting on the small couch with her and leaning against her side.

Derek sat angrily on the corner of the room and huffed for the 100th time. He opened his mouth, ready to start complaining again but the blonde pointed to the wall clock with her head, warning in her eyes.

He shut his mouth close, crossed his arms and glared at nothing.

He could not believe JJ had _actually _grounded him.

He huffed _again_ and held his chin up.

He simply could _not _believe in it.

…

**Hey guys! Next chapter we'll get the children talking with the psychologist (after JJ and Hotch somehow convince them) and we'll get to see a little bit of each one of their conversation with her. So, tell me, what do you want to learn about each one of those little puddings (more importantly about the boys as in I'm still thinking whether or not Emily will accept to talk at all) so… Gimme your thoughts! **

**Oh! And I almost forgot! Something BIG is about to come up, a big issue that'll be caused by the one and only Erin Strauss. Anyone has any guesses about what will it be? U.u**


	9. The Wicked Witch of The BAU's West

**Hey guys! I'm sorry it took me longer than usual to update but I kinda of got a little carried away and the chapter ended up almost the double of what's here. I had to spit it in two. So we got part one here! I hope you enjoy it, I sure enjoyed to write it!**

**Thank you again for all your support, your reviews… You have no idea the good you guys do to me.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.**

**9\. The Wicked Witch of The BAU's West**

"_Morgan, Hotch specifically told us to wait for them and not go inside by ourselves" Reid whispered as Morgan, Emily and himself stood by the front door of the abandoned-looking house. Morgan rolled his eyes._

"_We're running out of time here, Reid. For all we know, he might be killing another kid inside. Right now"_

"_And what good will it do us getting killed as well?" Reid whispered back but was all but ignored as Morgan looked at Emily._

"_Prentiss, you take the back. Reid and I are coming through the front" The brunette nodded and proceeded to walk around the house. Reid sighed. He knew this wouldn't end up well, he just knew it. "Ready pretty boy?" He didn't wait for Reid's response as he kicked the door down and was inside the house in a second. Reid heard another door being kicked down just before he followed Morgan, gun raised as they both surveyed the place around them._

"_Clear" Emily's voice came from the darker end of a long hallway right in front of the front door._

"_Clear" Morgan yelled back and walked further into the dirty, empty old house. He made a motion with his head that meant for Reid to go left and he went right._

"_Clear" Reid yelled after inspecting what probably used to be a kitchen._

"_Clear" Came Morgan's voice from the first room. He quickly moved to enter the hallway, Reid right on his tail. Then he stopped, shooting his left hand back towards Reid to hold him back. _

_Emily hand't yelled back after she entered the room in the back. "Emily?"_

_An eerie silence developed around the two men and fear filled the young doctor. Morgan had his eyes narrowed, focused in any and every little noise. He started to take silent step when a terrified, blood chilling scream nearly made the two jump out of their skins. They knew that scream from anywhere. _

"_EMILY!" Both man ran, guns drawn and ready to shoot. They reached the tiny dark room in seconds. Morgan jumped inside, turning his body to the right to inspect when a shot came from his left. _

_The man groaned and fell on the floor in agony._

"_Morgan!" Reid screamed. Trembling with fear he stumbled around, turning from one side to the other on the dark room, pointing his gun at every direction. He heard a laugh and felt a blinding pain on his side, like a sharp needle entering his skin._

_He screamed and went down, feeling his body started to burn, like poison was running through his veins. _

_There was a loud cry coming from Morgan as he withered and rolled around on the floor in agony. He heard small whimpers and pitiful cries coming from the other side, where Emily laid, no long being able to move._

_There were a couple of steps, Reid managed to open his tightly closed eyes for a moment to see a man step past his body and then Morgan's, walking out the door like nothing ever happened. He then stopped, and turned around. _

_Spencer couldn't see his face for it was dark and his eyelids had started to get heavy. His bones ached and burned, the pain soon becoming unbearable. It felt like they were being broken – or shrieked, he would soon find out - and Spencer howled in agony._

"_Don't worry children. We'll see each other again. Soon"_

_And that was the last thing Spencer Reid heard before joining his two teammates and friends into a world of darkness. _

…

Little Spencer startled awake from his nightmare and looked around in fright.

JJ looked up from the files she'd been working on and jumped out of her chair. She was kneeling beside her office's couch in a blink of an eye.

"Hey, Spence. You okay?"

The frightened little boy squint his eyes, trying to make his friend's face come into focus. She grabbed his glasses from her desk and handed them to him with a soft smile.

"Thank you"

He looked around again, feeling confused as of when he had gotten to JJ's office. The last thing he remembered was being in a restaurant, feeling his eyes becoming heavy as Derek kept begging Hotch for desert and JJ tried to get Emily to eat something and then… Nothing.

"You fell asleep on the table" JJ explained, catching on the boy's confusion "Slept all the way back so Hotch put you here, where's quiet"

"Ah… Where are Emily and Derek?"

The blonde leaned to the side a little, pointing with her head to the corner near her desk, under the window. There sat a very distracted little Emily, watching something on a tablet with headphones on.

"… And Derek's with Garcia, playing some kind of game on her lair… She said you're more than welcome to join them if you want"

Spencer watched with curiosity as Emily absently turned her head to where JJ was supposed to be sitting and her entire body grew tense, her eyes widening when she didn't see her there. It was only a second before she spotted the blonde and relaxed again, but it was enough for her little friend to notice. She went back to her tablet as Spencer turned his attention back to JJ.

"... Didn't Hotch say we had appointments with a psychologist this afternoon?"

"Mhmm" The woman nodded, checking her watch "… But the first session isn't still for an hour from now"

"Oh. And who's going first?"

JJ shrugged "No idea. I think she may want to see the three of you together at first, so you can grow more comfortable around her"

"You already know who she is?"

"Nope. Hotch only told me that she's a she. But you know Hotch, he made sure he choose the best for you guys"

Spencer nodded in agreement "I know. Can I stay here with you and Emily for now, though?"

"Of course!" She smiled "I'm just afraid I don't have another tablet in here to give you…"

The little boy raised his hand to stop her in her tracks "That's more than okay, Jayje. Is my backpack here? I have another book I have yet to read in there"

JJ pointed to the red bag resting near the door "… So _that's _why that thing weights more than you do…"

The tiny genius blushed but smiled. JJ helped him out of the couch and watched with a smile as he ran to his bag, a satisfied smile on his cute face as the prospect of immersing himself in yet another book.

She waited until he was settled, laying on the floor on his tummy with his book open in front of him and quickly checked on Emily before going back to her files.

…

"EVERYBODY HIDE! THE WICKED WITCH OF THE BAU's WEST IS COMING!"

Emily, Reid and JJ jumped in fright at the door being slammed open. Derek ran inside in hysterics, all but diving under JJ's desk to hide.

Emily flung herself into JJ's arms from where the blonde had put her a few minutes prior, sitting on top of her desk, to try and get her to eat a granola bar.

Reid's frightened expression soon was replaced with one of curiosity, his head tilting to the side.

"Derek, are you referring to Director Strauss? Because if you are, I believe her office is on the north side of the building, not on the…"

"DOES IT REALLY MATTER RIGHT NOW, PRETTY BOY?" Derek's arm shot out from under the desk, grabbing the younger kid by his long sleeve "HIDE!"

Emily gave a small squeak as a hand pulled her under the desk by her pant leg.

JJ looked in astonishment between her door and under her desk, blinking slowly.

Soon she could hear Garcia's frenetic voice approaching her office, sounding like she was desperately trying to delay someone, to stop them from coming into her office.

And inside walked in confident strides Erin Strauss in all her stoic, intimidating glory.

JJ gulped.

"Where are they?"

The blonde saw Garcia behind the older blonde, waving her hands around like she was trying to say something, and felt someone (or more than _one _someone) clinging to her legs.

Strauss raised an eyebrow "Agent Jareau? Where are the… Childfied agents?"

…

"Erin"

Rossi showed up on JJ's office just in time, pushing past Garcia to enter the small space. JJ was still just sitting in there, looking for all she had absolutely no idea of what to do.

"David" The woman sighed. She crossed her arms.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I came to see with my own eyes the damage done to your agents"

Rossi wanted to roll his eyes. He remained expressionless. "Hotch and I told you we'd arrange for you to see the children whenever you wished, you just had to talk to us first"

"Well, but I found myself with some rare free time and decided to come here. Now, where are they?"

"_We're not here!"_

"_Damn it, Morgan!"_

"_Shush you two"_

The director raised an eyebrow. JJ dropped her head in her hand. _This _is exactly why her headache seemed to _never _go away.

"… Well, I don't think they want to see you at this moment, Erin" Rossi spoke up, trying to hide his amusement.

"_What's going on in here?" _

Agent Hotchner had joined the scene, walking inside JJ's small office.

_Seriously, this office is not meant to fit this much people, _she thought.

"Director Strauss wishes to see the kids, sir" Garcia supplied in a nervous voice.

"_But they are not here!"_

"_Morgan!"_

"_What? I didn't say 'we', I said 'they'!"__** Smack **__"Ow! Emily!"_

"… _You deserved this one"_

Hotch looked from the desk to JJ. The blonde still had her forehead in her hand and simply groaned. He looked for Rossi for answers next.

The older man shrugged "They don't want to see her right now, I suppose"

"Oh, well, in that case…" The dark haired man looked back to Strauss "I believe it would be better for us to arrange this meeting for another time? They have somewhere else to be right now, anyway. I did tell you to talk to me before coming to see them"

The Director rolled her eyes "I won't have any free time later today. Different than your team, Hotchner, I actually have urgent work to do. Have them here first thing in the morning tomorrow, in the conference room, I'll meet you there at 8 a.m. sharp"

"But, tomorrow's Saturday, ma'am…" Garcia informed. And shrunk back at the glare she received "… 8 a.m. got it! We'll all be here at 7, ma'am!"

"Yes, we will" Rossi didn't look happy, to say at least. He gave a pointed look at the older blonde "Now, if you please…"

The woman said nothing more as she walked out of the crowded space, Garcia literally jumping out of her way. The room was filled with silence.

"… _Is the coast clear? Can we come out? Is the witch dead?"_

"_Morgan!"_

_**Giggles **__"Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead"_

JJ groaned again and pressed her forehead harder against her palm.

Those three would be the death of her.

…

"No!"

"Emily…"

"No! No! No!"

"Em…"

"**NO!"**

Baby blue eyes narrowed dangerously and the little girl deflated immediately. Looking down and clasping her hands behind her back, she made herself look absolutely miserable.

"I'm sorry, Jayje"

"Come on, Emily" Spencer walked up to her, looking very sympathetic. He wasn't happy either, to say at least, but he definitely wasn't as stubborn as Emily Prentiss. _Nobody_ he knew was as stubborn as Emily Prentiss. "It won't be so bad! Hotch said we can even go together this time, the three of us!"

"Don't care"

"Come on, Princess" Derek rolled his eyes "The faster we go in, the faster it will be over"

"No! I don't wanna see the mean _psycho _lady!"

Reid raised a tiny finger and corrected "_Psychologist"_

Emily glared "I _don't _care! She's mean! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna! Please don't make me, I don't wanna!" Tears started to stream down her pale cheeks, her exhaustion mixing with her refusal to comply giving her a terrible headache.

"It's okay Emily, it'll be over soon…" Rossi was surprised when he touched the girl's shoulder and she jumped a whole feet away from him. Her tiny fists came to rub her aching eyes and she was shamelessly sobbing in front of her entire team.

"_I do-don't wa-wanna go, do'-don't ma-make me! Ja-Jay! Jayje!"_

The blonde sighed, her heart squeezing painfully inside her chest. She bent down and reached out for the little girl, grabbing both of her arms to gently pull her to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Shhhhh, it's okay, you're okay Em…" She got up, Emily on her arms, one hand grabbing onto her shirt, two fingers of the other finding their way into her mouth.

"Alright, how about that" Hotch started after he noticed the helpless look on JJ's eyes "What if I go talk to her first, fill her in into a few more details for today and you guys get to talk to her tomorrow, I can even talk her into letting someone going in with each of you, does this sounds better for you guys?"

Derek and Reid nodded, Garcia whispering under her breath _"But, tomorrow's Saturday…"_

"Well, we'll have to come in tomorrow anyway, Pen, so why not?" JJ shrugged, rubbing Emily's back, glad that she seemed calm "So, Hotch, does this means that we're free to leave?"

Their boss shrugged "I don't see why not"

The blonde smiled "Good. Call Jess then, tell her to meet us at the park, I'll ask Will to go pick up Henry from the daycare"

The boys' eyes lightened up. "Can she bring Clooney too? He loves the park!"

JJ looked down at the oldest kid, full intending to glare daggers at him, but the way he looked up at her, all hopeful and innocent, she simply couldn't.

It quickly ran through her mind how much the three seemed to act more and more like children as the days went by, but she dismissed the thought. The doctor _did _warn them it would happen.

She sighed and looked back at her boss "… See if she can bring the damn dog along"

Derek's radiant smile _might _have made the idea of spending time with a freaking dog worth it.

She kissed the top of Emily's head again. She hopped getting out of this ambient would do her some good.

…

**So? Thoughts? Guesses of what's going to happen next chapter? Oh, and I almost forgot it, someone guessed the big thing that's going to happen next! (still not next chapter though) **

**Lemme know what you think! Love you guys!**


	10. The best of the best times

**Hey guys! So, this chapter, as I told you, was actually the second part of the previous one. It's basically pointless plot wise, it won't really add anything to the story and is basically a collection of random scenes of the rest of their day. Also, pretty drama free.**

**We'll go back to the plot next chapter. Hope you enjoy this one anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.**

**10\. ****The **_**best of the best times**_

"Come on, boy! Come on!"

The five children ran around an open green area of the park, all giggling wildly, Derek holding onto Clooney's leash as he chased after the other four.

JJ wondered if she should worry about how much Henry seemed to adore the big dog.

Because no matter how much he begged and pouted, there was _no way _they were _ever_ getting a dog. _No freaking way._

Jess, Penelope and JJ were sitting on a bench, eyes trained on the children while talking among themselves. Will had to go back to work soon after he dropped Henry off and Rossi had chosen a single seat under the shadow of a tree, further away from them. JJ was pretty certain he was sleeping underneath his sunglasses.

"You can't catch me!" Jack laughed as he kept running back and forth.

"You can't catch me either!" Emily stuck out her tongue and took off running when Derek and Clooney turned her way.

"I can catch you and I will!" Derek stated seriously and took off running after her. As his legs were considerably longer than hers, he caught in no time "Tag! You're it!"

"Hey! This is not fair!" Emily pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot on the ground. Derek ran away with Clooney, making faces at her.

"Emily's a crybaby and she can't catch me!" Jack yelled in a mocking tone and Emily's eyes narrowed. She took off after him.

"I'll catch you, Jack!"

Soon the game of tag apparently got too competitive for the two little ones and they trailed away, still within the adult's eye range, eyes trained on the floor, searching something.

_Please, if they're hunting worms or anything gross, please don't let them bring it here, _Penelope silently prayed.

"So, Jess" JJ spoke "How are you dealing with this whole… Situation?"

The other blonde shrugged "By ignoring it all. Pretending it's not happening. Just pretending the story we told Jack is true and Derek and Spencer are simply children in need of temporary home and Hotch took them in and I'm helping out. It's either this, or I'll go insane"

JJ gave as understanding smile "I get it. Sometimes I wish I could pretend that too, it can be very weird to look at that little girl, sleeping in my arms, playing and wrestling with my son, crying over small things and running for me for comfort and think that she is _actually _my best friend, you know?"

"Actually no" Jess laughed "Must be _way _too weird. I'm weirded out enough by having four year old _genius _walking around and talking to me like not even many adults would, but then again, Derek told me that's _actually _Spencer's child personality…"

"Oh, our little genius" Penelope laughed "He's adorable though, isn't he?"

"Don't need to tell me. He can get literally anything from me, all he has to do is look at me with those cute little eyes and I'm done"

The other two laughed "Same with Emily. Last night she and Henry were getting along pretty well and teamed up against Will and I. They got to stay awake almost two hours past the bed time and just didn't stay longer because they passed out at the couch at one point"

"Oh, those little things… They're too much, I swear" Penelope smiled.

…

Sometime later Derek had a brilliant idea. He gathered the other four and they were all immediately in.

Before any of the women could do anything, they attacked.

"_Cristo Santo!"_

The three turned just in time to see Rossi's chair landing on the ground, all children (and the dog) jumping on top of him, yelling, laughing and tickling. The blondes exchanged glances and ran to the commotion.

They took their phones out, filming and taking many pictures, laughing along with all the mess.

Rossi was _not _amused.

…

Emily ran back to the other women at some point, her eyes a bit dazed and unfocused from how tired she was. She said nothing, just sat on the bench between Penelope and JJ.

It wasn't even 10 minutes later and her upper body was laying on the media liaison's lap, small snores coming out of her parted mouth.

Penelope took many pictures until JJ snapped at her for almost waking up the brunette.

…

Spencer was sound asleep on Jess's shoulder when the four of them (five, if you count the dog) walked inside the house. Jack's eyes lightened up when he saw his father sitting on the kitchen table.

"Dad!"

"Shhh, Jack" Jess scolded. But the little boy was already halfway to his father. She looked down at Derek, who was busy taking off Clooney's leash "Derek, fill Clooney's bowl with water, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The blonde smiled. Derek high-fived Hotch on his way to Clooney's bowls, Jack was already narrating all the adventures of his day to his smiling father and Clooney had already taken off, probably to go find Sergio's latest hiding spot.

It was an unusual scene in this household, but definitely not an unwelcomed one. Maybe having those little boys (and the pets) around would do more good to the Hotchner boys than she first realized.

She smiled all the way upstairs, excited to wake up the tiny genius, get him clean and take him on the promised trip to the library.

…

Emily made it two hours of uninterrupted sleep after the park before she startled awake, thankfully silently this time.

"Hey, you" JJ smiled, abandoning her cooking and waking into the living room as soon as she spotted the little head of raven hair pocking up from the back of the couch "Had a good nap?"

The little girl nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She didn't protest when JJ picked her up, kissed her forehead and started to walk them back into the kitchen.

"Will and Henry are playing in the backyard; Henry was practically sleeping on his feet so Will's trying to hold him off until after dinner. God knows that if that boy takes a nap too close from bedtime he'll _never_ go down" The blonde jolted the sleepy girl on her hip "Want to go join them?"

Emily shook her head shyly "Can I stay here with you instead?"

"Of course you can!" JJ tickled her on the ribs. Emily laughed as she was placed sitting on the counter "Can you sit really still for me?"

The little girl rolled her eyes "Yeah, Jay. Not really a kid, remember?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing, turning back to the stove to continue cooking dinner.

…

"… Remind me to bring a pushcart next time" Jess chuckled while walking down the street, little Spencer walking close by her side.

The kid was practically vibrating on his feet with excitement; apparently, he had found some book he's been looking for a while.

Jess was really wondering if Spencer's absolute (and adorable) adoration for books was really something he had as a 4 year old or if it was a part of his still adult mind.

"I'm sorry, Jess! I know I chose a lot of books, but I couldn't help myself! Those are amazing! Did you see the one about human anatomy? Is dated back to the 800's! It's fascinating to see how people of that time saw the human body and how their studies worked; it's literally getting a glimpse of a complete different time!"

Jess wanted to chuckle watching the adorable little boy struggling to talk while walking carrying the heaviest book they had chosen (_"If I'm carrying only one book while you carry the other 4, it's only fair I carry the heaviest, Jess!")_

"I completely agree with you, Spencer. Although, I enjoy more reading novels, from all times and different places; is like travelling to wonderful places without leaving your house"

The little boy nodded "Yes! I don't understand how Derek can't see it! Adult Derek isn't the biggest reader out there, but I've seen him reading for pleasure a couple of times, but now he hates it! How can someone hate reading?"

Jess snickered "Don't ask me. Ask Jack; that one isn't too big on reading either"

"That's probably why he and Derek get along so well!"

Jess nodded "Perhaps" She looked at the little boy with a small frown "They're being nice to you, though, right?"

Spencer quickly looked up with a smile and nodding "Yes, we're all getting along, they are being really nice to me! But sometimes I prefer not to get involved with some physical activities and they're okay with it. I get to have time to myself to read!"

Jess chuckled "Of course" She looked up. They had arrived back home "Ready to go back to the madness?"

Spencer giggled "Ready"

…

"An' we _finded _a really big worm, Daddy! Auntie Pen yelled real loud!" Little Henry recounted their adventures at the park in between spoonfuls of Mac and Cheese. JJ chuckled, shaking her head in amusement.

"That wasn't too nice, little man"

"… But it _was_ funny" Emily smirked at the little boy sitting across the table from her.

"An', an' it was funny too when we jumped on Uncle Rossi an' he was so mad an' Dewek called him 'Grumpa' cuz he's grumpy an' old an' he _runned _after Dewek"

"… And tackled his cocky butt on the ground!" Emily finished the story giggling. JJ had a giant smile on her face, loving the warm atmosphere surrounding her family, glad to be seeing Emily so carefree. The only thing bothering her was that the little girl was still pushing her food around more than actually eating it.

"Wow! It sounds like you guys had _the best of times _at the park!" Will cheered. Henry nodded, bringing another spoonful to his mouth. More landed on his shirt than on his belly.

"Yeah…" Emily had a small smile on her lips, her eyes suddenly looking faraway, as if lost in memories "… The _best of the best times…"_

…

"Jayje? Henry?"

"Hi Emmy!" The little pajama clad boy ran towards her double bed, struggling to climb up with a stuffed toy in each arm. Emily looked up at JJ as she started to slip under the covers next to the little girl.

"Don't look at me. It's all the little man's idea"

"Well, hello ya'll, hope I'm not too late for the party?" Will came in dragging a mattress, blankets and pillows with him.

"We gonna sleep wiff you tonight so the monsters will go away, Emmy!" Henry informed with a big smile, crawling until he was sitting on top of the covers in front of her.

In the darkened room lightened only by the small nightlight, JJ watched many emotions go through the little girl's eyes, overwhelming her. She wasted no time in bringing her into a tight hug, Henry joining only a beat later.

"An' here! This is Mr. Ducky's best friend, Mr. Lamby!" The little blonde held out one of the toys "He'll keep you safe like Mr. Ducky keeps me safe, right Mommy?"

"Right, sweetie" JJ smiled at her son and kissed the top of Emily's head "But now is night, night time, alright? Mommy and Emmy will have to wake up really early tomorrow, so come on, little man!"

Henry giggled and climbed past his mother. Will settled himself on the mattress on the floor as JJ and Henry made themselves comfortable on the bed, the blonde laying between the two children and pulling the two to lay on her chest. She started to play with their hair, gently humming under her breath.

Emily kept the stuffy under her arm, close to her chest and grabbed onto JJ's shirt.

The blonde watched as a single tear ran down Emily's pale cheek. She tightened her arm around her and Emily whispered against her chest.

"… _Thank you" _

…

Hotch turned off Jack's light, leaving the blue nightlight as the only source of light. He stopped at the doorway, looking at the three little boys, Derek on the top bunk, Jack on his own bed and Spencer on the mattress on the floor.

"Goodnight you guys! Sleep tight!"

"Goodnight Daddy/Hotch!"

"Goodnight Derek"

"Goodnight, Hotch!"

"Goodnight, Jack"

"Night, Daddy!"

"Goodnight, Spencer"

"Night night, Hotch"

…

"Daddy? You forgot Clooney!"

The man narrowed his eyes, glaring at the dog laying on the foot of Spencer's bed, looking at him as if waiting for his goodnight's wishes. Hotch sighed.

"Goodnight, Clooney"

'_**Woof woof!" **_

Hotch's eyes widened. He shook his head and was about to walk out.

"Hotch!" Derek called out. "You forgot Sergio!"

And there was the cat, laying by Derek on the bunk bed, his yellow eyes staring straight at Hotch. He sighed again.

"Goodnight, Sergio"

"_**Meow"**_

Hotch backed off and ran to his room.

He was definitely finally losing his mind.

…

**Hey! What do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Lemme know ;)**


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